You have to be sly with the river

Joe Vermillion was a Chipewyan Indian I met on the Peace River about twelve years ago. I was engaged, then, in the seemingly impossible task of paddling against the 8mph current of that river- which was over a 1000 miles long. Joe said we could do it, but we had to be sly with the river. We had to use the back channels, the places near the bank where the current was slack, the reverse currents you get behind obstructions; we had to tow the boat when the bank was clear, we had to sail when there was a good tailwind. If we tried to tough it out, battle headlong into the current like heroes we’d last about a week. I saw that when I started. We had to be sly with the river.

I was thinking today it is the best advice for any adventure. And maybe for life, especially for long drawn out and difficult tasks. Use every advantage, every place where the current reverses for whatever reason. Even when things are against you, when you’re battling against everything you can make progress, bit by bit, looking for the easiest route, the openings. You have to be sly with the river.

Half way to enlightenment

"Just leaving one's homeland is to accomplish half of reaching enlightenment."

Tibetan adage

time

Time has become the ultimate luxury.

Learning how to transcend time is a good way to use that luxury, if you have it.

Objection

What we object to in a thing may simply be its unavoidable yang or yin elements. Nothing can be 100% one thing or the other. And for yang and yin read 'outgoing' or 'inward looking' if it makes more sense to you.

Day FOUR of three day fast

Still on 4kg weight loss. I wake up at 5am and sneak downstairs: eat a tiny bit of banana- Ok but nothing special. I then make a soup and add some sauce from a curry- it tastes brilliant- though very strong and salty. I eat some curried carrot- a few slices and that is enough. Back to bed.

At 7.30am I have a tiny bowl of bran flakes and two oat cakes. It is these that really taste marvellous, the fast having sharpened every nuance of their flavour. The instant coffee is great too.

Then- what I have been planning for two days: Canadian pancakes, bacon, maple syrup and cappuccino at a local café. That bacon! Pity they took so long bringing it but perfection is made to be marred.

In conclusion- I want to keep doing a fast day a week- maybe Sunday afternoon to Monday afternoon plus a day when I only eat breakfast. It may change but that is the plan.

Aches and pains come back after a few hearty meals…it really does seem as if fasting helps the body deal with these and aids repair of them. It's a great mood booster too. I feel great.

Day THREE of my three day fast

4kg weight loss since the beginning. Feel fairly terrible this morning. Worse than yesterday if anything. But walking into town I feel I could keep going forever- walking I mean, not fasting. Fasting helps stimulate brain neuron growth- and so does walking- both are needed for ancient man to find more food when he is hungry. I try several shops for an incredibly expensive printer cartridge. No one has it in stock. I find dealing with people very easy, just as I do when I’m on a mission of some sort, or ill; everyday life, downtime so to speak, doesn’t suit me as well. I go round to see a pal and drink a lap sang tea and a fruit tea. That and the conversation seems to change my head- the dull ache has gone. More walking on air back, really I feel I could keep going forever as long as there are no hills…In the evening I sip a thin soup made from half a teaspoonful of bouillon powder- I’m allowing myself one of these a day plus a couple of lap sang teas and numerous fruit teas. Thin soup…heaven! No hallucinations to report but coming out the front door this morning it seemed very bright; everything looked heavily delineated, separate from its background and I greedily took in all sights, revelling in being out here, looking, noticing.

Last day- only one more night to get through. Who could have thought you could have such an adventure and save money too!

Day TWO of my three day fast

Woke about 4.30am. drank some water. Weighed myself- an incredible 3kg weight loss- must be mainly water loss. My eyes feel dehydrated, as if with a hangover. One is red- probably all the toxins I’m liberating by not eating. But usual aches and pains- slight allergic wheeziness and stiff shoulder have gone. That is incentive enough to keep going. Back in bed I stay there until 9am. After a bracing lap sang tea I go out and chop some wood. I don’t try too hard, and what I find is that I end up using the axe properly- letting it’s weight do the work instead of my arms. I take a goodly break looking out at the view but I am not really tired…just slow. I must be running off my own fat supplies – good for a slow burn but nothing too extreme is remotely possible.

But I do spend most of the day sitting around a lot. I manage to fiddle with a website I’m helping to build. Still get waves of low level headacheyness. My eye is no longer bloodshot by the evening. Turn off a film and read a novel, but my eyes are soon tired. I have my soup which is just a teaspoon of bouillon powder in a cup. I add a small chopped up garlic. Bad idea- I’m soon burping and I can feel a small windsection of weird stuff going on in my insides. I’m sick of mint tea by now. Lemon and ginger is OK and so is lap sang.

I really hope I hit the much advertised breakthrough tomorrow as this is a medium unpleasant experience- but, strangely, one I am not regretting one bit. It’s like being on a trip, a strange and interesting journey.