Asleep in the City.


 

There was a time, not so long ago (this time, last year, in fact) when walking the streets of the city was just that. Something I did in order to get to where I needed to be. I walked with my mind and eyes on other things. One foot in front of the other on autopilot as I checked my phone and scrolled through my iTunes playlists.

 

Yesterday’s walk was a little different. Baby SSG and I were in the CBD to catch up with a dear friend who was in town briefly for work. Cocooned in his pram and dozing after a soothing bus ride (I never thought I’d see that word in front of the term ‘bus ride’), we walked in a cocoon of restful calm. In the middle of a working day in the city with its thick blanket of noise from the traffic and the people.

 

With a watchful eye and both hands firmly on the pram, my walk became a conscious mental exercise it never was before. I scanned the area ahead of us for cracks in the pavement or other obstacles. I swerved to avoid crowds. I smiled a thank you at people who made room for us. I only entered shops with level access or else accessed the wheelchair (and by default pram) friendly lift entries to shops that I’d never really noticed before.

 

My new leisurely walking speed made yesterday’s expedition as much about the journey as it was about the destination of meeting my friend. I had time to look up and notice the way the afternoon sun I winter dappled the buildings and bare tree branches.
 
 
 
I ambled along Pitt Street mall and was rewarded with an impromptu bubble show. It was one of those moments to just be still as the bubbles floated upward and around me, stopping only to land on a bench with a pop to end their brief existence.

 

 
It was an afternoon to window shop. I was quite content to simply look at the lavish window displays from the outside. There’s a new Le Creuset store where a pearl boutique used to be. It looks like a little oasis of domestic bliss in a sea of glamorous designer boutiques.
 
I met my friend and the years since we last caught up slipped away after the first hellos and coffee orders were spoken. As we caught up with each others lives we came to realise that it was the journeys between achievements and defining life events that taught us most about who we were and who we hope to be.
 
Here’s to good friends and landing on your feet with a smile and a glow!

 


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