Engaging mode

Having been fortunate enough to be able to visit a variety of places in the last month, everything from remote islands to capitol cities, I've been reminded of what it really means to engage with our surroundings, with our environment. To actually move from 'doing' mode, speaking, taking photographs, reading maps and guides; and entering 'being' mode, engaging all our senses.

Research shows that the views that have the most calming
influence are those with mountains, the sea and forests

Too often it seemed that wherever people were, along sea shores, around harbours, on mountain ridges even on city streets there were people too busy to actually stop and notice. Too busy to smell the flowers, feel the cold of the breeze, the warmth of the sun, the sight of the eagle soaring overhead, the sound of the goslings swimming in the canal. 

The weather changed in a few hours leaving a good covering of snow on higher slopes

Instead of actually experiencing for themselves they walked around with the smartphones and tablets held in front of their faces, watching the limited view afforded by the screen in from of them rather than engaging with the better view which can never be replicated on screen, the view through their own eyes. I watched people pile off tourist coaches, take photos and get back on the coach for the next viewpoint. I'm reminded of lines from the famous poem -

What is this life 

If full of care

we have no time

to stand and stare?

Integration

A recent trip to Amsterdam (all without flying, instead using trains, buses, ferry, and walking) provided an opportunity to see how some cities seem to manage transport, environment and community integration more successfully than others.

A group of kayakers travelling through the city

Yes there were cars but they were strictly controlled with cyclists and walkers often having priority. There were also lots of electric vehicles accompanied by charging points on every street. While many think this has happened by virtue of the Netherlands being flat, the reality is that the infrastructure is a result of citizens campaigning for good public transport, for good cycle infrastructure, to limit motorways through and around the city to have great public transport, buses, trains, trams, metro, river boats, ferries, cycle parking etc. But it is not only about transport, every street seemed full of green, with tree lined avenues, planters, hanging baskets and flowers everywhere.

Lots of cycles and the space to ride them!

 And everywhere there was room to walk, from good road crossing points to parks and footpaths, all promoting a culture where walking and cycling seems the rule rather than the exception, where an appreciation of the environment includes having the space to stop, to relax.

Great areas for walking for health too

Engaging practice

Today is the start of Buddhist Action Month, a period when Buddhists around the world show how their Buddhist practice, their seeking enlightenment, their seeking to help all beings, is achieved not through sitting on a cushion meditating but through getting out into their communities, into the natural environment we are all part of and showing how Buddhist practice means caring for others, caring for places, caring for our planet.