Just being

So the Uk is going through the usual three day heatwave, when we look at the blue sky in a slightly puzzled way and shake our heads. Go and stand by the freezers in the supermarket, giggle at the dress codes where Brits abandon any pretence of looking in the mirror before leaving home. I’m talking to you sir, beer belly exposed at nine am. And you madam, in a bikini  and flip flops in central London.

The French call it the canicule  and they know how to deal with it. Close the shutters or curtains in the heat of the day. Don’t go outside between eleven and three, or if you must, keep to the shady side of the street. Drink copious amounts of water and stay off the booze.

I sat in a garden square in the late afternoon with a book, watching kids running barefoot in the grass. Enjoying the play of the wind in the trees and the sun stippling through the grass, the feel of the cool earth beneath my feet.

Just being and realising that for the first time in ages I was…content. And after some of the very dark places I’ve been recently, I reckon content will more than do.