A knot in my lace.

Eglise Sainte Madeleine

Now this church door I do know a little about for a rather strange reason. It has this Romanesque doorway. The little black stone above the door is the coat of arms of the town of Tournus where I am at present. The road running past the church is called the Rue des Boucheries, the place of the butchers and it is here where animals were slaughtered. So some connections with my distant past.

I was asked the other day there by a friend what age I was when I started to run. Surprisingly I can remember running around the school playing fields on my own while very young and enjoying how long and how far I could go. There was no incentive to run distances in those days all school sports was about speed and I hated it. Why was I always so different from everybody else?

Strangely at the time, I was asked I was, in fact, sitting looking at my the trainers I have worn since getting ankle problems. They have a pull together lacing system that works perfectly for my problems. But I was remembering the knot I used to use when I wore laces. It was called a fell runners knot, specially designed not to come undone on difficult terrain. It was also simple to undo.

So my mind turned to shoes and knots. Have you ever had a knot in your lace that you could not get undone? One of the simpler problems of life to overcome.

We all face adversity in one form or another, but we also all react differently to such adversity. Some collapse while others marshal determination.

When confronted with difficulty the very best response is one of modesty. Bow before adversity, contemplate it and concentrate until a solution is found. Anger achieves nothing but neither does giving in, in the face of adversity.

It is like having that knot in the shoelace, you bend down to find guidance and a solution but do not resort to either cutting it off or giving up.

That said modesty can become a burden if we allow ourselves to become meek and insecure.  Humility can so easily become self-defeating.

How many talented artists never achieve their full potential because they fail to believe in themselves.

So modesty in the face of adversity, but it must be applied in the right manner that leads to solutions. 

On the move yet again today slowly but surely heading back towards Freuchie. Still in France but now picking up UK satellite and the BBC and those early morning programmes that drives me crazy when my wife inflicts then on me. Ah well, all good things come to an end. I need to modestly find a solution.

have a good day.