No park life in Chicago
I knew upon waking up that I was going to run today because of the weather. I woke up to sunshine and it was supposed to be 70 plus degrees in Chicago. I was even excited last night knowing that I was going to enjoy the sun, a much needed pleasure lately with the coronavirus pandemic hovering all our lives. As I put on the sunscreen I smiled as my mind wandered to the place I used it last. It was in Barcelona of last year, in August, and I smiled and had to text my friend who was with me on my trip. The pleasures of the Boqueria, the food scene, the shopping, the architecture, and everything else that goes along with a great trip sprang forth in my mind. The effect of yesterday’s run when my mind kept thinking of places that I had been was like a drug, and I was hoping for more it today.
After three miles I wanted to walk the rest of the way back when I saw a small patch of green near Grant Park, and just being able to actually BE on the green grass made me feel like a kid again. I saw some statues called “Agora” made by a Polish artist which were headless 9 foot tall sculptures. Because the word is Greek, meaning an open space for meetings and markets, my mind went immediately to Athens. I was there only two years ago but it seemed like ages ago. This isolation during this world crisis somehow is screwing up my sense of time. I don’t know what day or date it is until I look on my iPhone. Maybe it’s a way for me to not feel stressed about life since none of us know when our lives will go back to normal. I have no idea…
As I saw another sculpture that was on a hill that I had never seen before closer to Millennium Park, I wandered closer to it and was happy to see so many bright green clovers on the grass. I felt like I was looking at the world like a child again, noticing all the simple things, and also because I was looking for a four leaf clover! I was amused with myself at this small act, and I looked up at this beautiful city and wondered if I could practice looking at the world and my life in a new way. As I have so much time with my thoughts these days, I’m trying my best to see the spiritual reason for things happening the way they do. There are so many things in the world that I can’t understand and that I have absolutely no control over, but I can choose to accept what is happening and look at the world with positivity or with new eyes. Since none of us can travel right now, I am grateful for the travel memories, including the memories of my childhood. Who knew that running around Chicago would elicit such happy feeling of wanderlust as well as time travel back in time to my childhood?
As this terrible world crisis continues and the bleak mood hovers over our lives, I am so grateful that today was a beautiful sunny day, especially since the weather for tomorrow looks like rain and the rest of the week shows temperatures in the 40’s. 😩
