The school promoted and hosted a "Wellness Convention" on Friday and Saturday, an event in which we were fully immersed whether we liked it or not! The faculty, parents and high school students were all encouraged to participate to address the need for a balance of life and not a sole dedication to work and a pursuit of academic excellence at all costs. There were many high profile and keynote speakers from around the world (mostly from the U.S., but there was one guy from Australia!), who explained and advised on various wellness topics. There were lectures on adolescent development, breakout sessions on sleep and aromatherapy and hands-on workshops on mindfulness and yoga and anything you can imagine in between......there was even a mass drum circle beating out the message at lunchtime!
Exhausted from all this wellness, we took a pretty old-school approach to our own version of wellness on the weekend: mainly sleeping in, eating decadent treats and hard-charging some nature in vigorous exercise in the rain!
We did our various jobs on Saturday, such as grocery shopping at a few different venues, but we did, however, get the walking shoes on to do it, as the temperature dial swung back from "roasting" down to a relatively benign "pleasant" for the first time in quite a while. The temple park across the river was having trees transplanted by huffing diggers and the air was heavy with the scent of dirt and roots. Jobs completed, we settled in to enjoy the tinkling patter of rain dropping on the corrugated roofs below as we watched some TV in the waning afternoon/evening light.
The intimidating Tienmu Gudao serenaded with her siren call on Sunday morning, so we braved the spitting and tremulous skies to challenge the steps yet again. Cass felt her ankle had adequately healed to face the possibly perilous and slippery conditions, so we set off armed with a bottle of water each and steel in our resolve! The fallen leaves and runoff combined to form a skiddy slurry on many steps, so we needed to tread carefully on the way up. We nearly had a heart attack when fast moving, furry brown creatures disturbed the undergrowth from a bamboo copse, and hurtled straight toward us: luckily, instead of a Macaque attack, two stray cats burst onto the path and jettisoned themselves ever upward, hissing and caterwauling our fears away!
The hike was enervating, yet mercifully cooler than usual as the temperature had dropped yet again from the day before, and the misting rain was refreshing rather than annoying. We spied a long, juicy worm with a head shaped like a hammer, and some beautiful red flowers folded against the wind and rain. The ancient, brawny bulk of the Japanese-era water pipes that navigate beside the trail are covered in algae and moss, and the bamboo stalks that drape over the path are like something from a panda picture book. There is always a rich palette and a changing one, no matter how many times we visit.
We're both still ploughing through "The Road to Jonestown"...that guy was a real nutcase! Speaking of which, and eerily segued (the author of "...Jonestown" also wrote a comprehensive expose on Manson which I read), the infamous 60's murderer Charles Manson died just an hour ago. I've been quite fascinated with this nutter since reading "Helter Skeltor" years ago: I'll miss him! Photos: Parliamentary mayhem, wellness banners and a drum circle, shots from the steps.