Which way would you go? And why?

On my commute yesterday, reluctantly, I had reason to take another trip through suburban leicester rather than my usual rural route, as the crow (or barn owl) flies.
You'll be aware of my previous reaction to the experience of this specific suburban cycling route.  However, having ridden this route again, I still have the same opinions...
But I was led to think....

In life generally, I guess it's my nature to generally take the easier more pleasurable option. Surely would it not be madness not to?

My usual choice, is relatively comfortable; I enjoy flowing familiarity with negligible hurdles and man-made encounters. It is raw, spatial and rich in the spirit of something 'natural' (?)... It's relatively smooth and takes me where I intend to go... skirting intriguing worlds and lives with little incident... yes, it does have has it's unforeseen encounters but it's a an enjoyable option.

An alternative choice is a way populated with life in abundance. Much of what you'll find is in either in need of care and attention, badly designed, or both. It's past is evident, daily life and common culture are stamped on walls and faces. You'll encounter raw humanity... 'warts and all', but also what you find is rich in living lives, both sweet and sour.

Do Robert Frost's thoughts apply? Challenge? Avoidance? Survival? Common Sense?


Which way would you go? And why?

Sunrise Sunday, ultimately faulty?

Woken this morning by a poorly daughter - (barking like a seal on silk-cut). Bless her, she's suffering this weekend. Calpol and 'stuff' are hopefully doing their thing.
So a bedtime cuppa for the wife and 'Milkshake (5)' for t'other little lady, and off out on the pedals for an hour. The outing was briefly awesome!

After a twittering with Martyn Joseph last night (sorry Wales - gutted for u!) I've booked some tickets for Nov. It's been 5+ years since I saw MJ after probably 20+ years of seeing him at least once a year!
So I stuck an album on the pod which for the last few years sat collecting dust. The old MJ stuff has just not been resonating in the last few years, even a bit of a turn off... I've been on a different track recently.
This morning some of his offerings did again almost ring with recent recovering thoughts and feelings.
Can't sum up the experience save to say the ride was bracing. 3°C, 8.30am, rabbits, pheasants, birds of all kinds but notably buzzards. We have what must be a family (4 or 5) that live nearby and this morning one joined me on my ride for a minute. It soared over the hedge and followed me along the road for 20-30 seconds before circling a field and perching in a roadside tree - oh I wish I had the Lumix, alas the HTC wasn't up to the job.
At the moment I'm tentatively reading 'The Shack', a library angel put it in my hand! (Another story). I'll report back if i survive it.
I'd like to list the other cultural material that's popping and fizzing at the mo. but can't think. Let's just say stuff's simmering and I occasionally get a whiff of something stimulating... we'll see... hope it doesn't boil dry.
Highs on the ride this morning were utterly ecstatic; I find myself laughing out loud as I reach a summit or simply a hint of epiphanic 'life'; we then roll back down to norms and onward...
My only concern at the mo is that 'glory' goes to my perception of seemingly 'natural' phenomena while I avoid the death and natural 'fall' also abundant around us. I rejoice over 'life', and it seems it's the 'human' interference and conceptions that fail and mar the outlook.  Nature is a harsh if beautiful thing, I wonder if humanity can be beautiful as well as harsh and ultimately faulty.

Natural - Human?

Joy!

Joy! Warm and satisfying? Cool and fuzzy?

We made time today just to chill - we took ourselves and the kids to Bradgate for a stroll. Just walking in the fresh air was a great tonic against the noise of 'daily stuff'.
With the kids it can be* easy to make any simple thing into an adventure (*given opportunity - but that's another story). An unplanned portion of cake and a coffee helped halfway round!
Just sitting watching how the kids are growing into little people with ideas and characters of their own is grounding. Emma asked "can you see the deer?!" and P said "yes, I need a beer!" (not sure where that came from).
The clarity of the autumnal sky is striking. The seasonal adaption of nature; shrinking, slowing, fading - the moderation from the ornamentation of summer can be cleansing.
Back home we had a quick look back at some home-movie of A&P from a few years back and were reminded of the miracle of growth, and the blessings of shared experience.
Perhaps it's difficult to summarise feelings of joy? It's seems to be not an objective incident but a fleeting human feeling or thought that can either be embraced or ignored? Let's just say; if you hear a breath, absorb it; if you see a wisp, grab hold of it; if you receive anything, share it, somehow!
Joy and life will not last - if it's real, then after blooming, it may well eventually relax and rest back for a new awakening with someone else, at another time, in another place.
The tides of Mount's bay and a private Camelot will always come and go, at least in my mind they will. It's miraculous how they can be 'felt' over high fields in Charnwood. Count your blessings, name them one by one...

My only concern is that this joy seems a selfish experience, and is often not shared with others. That's what's missing... I feel that light, when kept to oneself is not true light but darkness. If it cannot be seen then it will not rejuvenate, it may as well die.
Ooops slipped, this post was intended to be a positive post.
Had a good walk amongst blue sky today! Hope you have too.
Happy days!