littlewonderlog

My husband asked me to go to Chunggye Mountain(청계산).

I was told that the Wonteogol to Oknyubong (원터골~옥녀봉) was an easy route, and then I found a sign saying it was 1,750m away from Oknyubong. Wait. He said it was a low hill.

Going up the rock stairs and wooden stairs made me realize that I was going to have a tough morning. But then, after a while, there were dirt paths and Oknyubong. Are we already there? Well, it said 375m. Oh, I confused the distance and the elevation.

It was much easier than the Bookhan Mountain Bogukmun route (북한산 보국문).

Today’s route is good for a day when I feel like going for a light hike.

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Chunggye Mountain (청계산)

– Route: Wonteogol to Oknyubong (원터골 ~ 옥녀봉)
– Distance: 1.95km
– Elevation: 375m
– Duration: 1 hour 55 minutes

While reading books, I often have the experience of finding exactly what I’ve wondered about.

I would shout to myself, “Yes! This is what I’ve been looking for!” but there’s nobody to celebrate this precious moment with me. Anyway, in those circumstances, I don’t particularly look for a book that might answer my questions, and I could never guess that the book has those answers inside by looking at the cover. It’s wondrous to see how this book came to my hands with the exact thing I wanted to learn about.

Is it telepathy? Do I have some sort of connection with this book?

It happens from time to time, but it definitely makes my reading journey more joyful.

I might often encounter this magical moment of joy on my reading journey like this, in a book that I would never guess has it.

I’ve always been doing a lot of things such as listening to English audiobooks or watching Japanese TV shows while doing the dishes, cooking, or working out. Yet, recently something changed. I’ve been losing some focus and hence missing things.

I suspect the reason is my recent deep breathing, meditation, and tendency to be mindful of the current task, whatever it is.

Multitasking has been a big part of my language learning, but now I feel like I need a change.

Maybe I should be glad that I’m gaining the ability to focus on one thing at a time rather than losing my multitasking ability.

Even if you can’t speak English well now, it’s ok.

You can’t speak English well yet. Just not yet. And that’s it.

If you keep learning and practicing, you will get better. If you keep doing it, you will have no choice but to get better. If you keep doing it, you will get better even if you don’t want to. The current ‘state of not speaking English well’ is just a temporary state.

Life keeps changing. The ability to do something is just one point on a spectrum that changes every day. If you can’t do it well, you don’t need to get discouraged or feel worthless. It’s just ‘not yet’ and that’s it.

And I often replace the word ‘speak English’ with another word in that sentence. Whatever I am doing, I remember its essence. The current state only applies to the present. Continuous change will make it a past state someday.

Repetition brings freedom.

Repetition strengthens memory. Repetition builds habits. Repetition makes things effortless. Enough repetition makes it impossible to forget.

Repetition brings freedom.

To gain freedom, repeat.

 

I keep putting in foreign language content so that it will someday come instinctively, automatically, and unconsciously.

My husband and I are spontaneous.

We don’t plan for a trip in detail in advance, and we usually choose our destination on the morning of a holiday (sometimes nothing is decided even after leaving home).

What’s useful for us bohemians for a spontaneous trip is a map app.

I’ve created a ‘Let’s hit the road’ folder on a map app, and I save interesting places I pick up while watching TV, talking to a friend, or watching online videos, etc. Then on a holiday, I scroll through that list. Out of so many places, there’s one that goes well with my mood for that day. If I feel like going somewhere close, I sort the folder by distance and choose a place, or I just choose wherever I like.

Hmm, talking about a spontaneous trip makes me want to go on one.

I pursue a modest workout and I’m the one who’s responsible for my ankles.

That’s why I don’t necessarily aim for the top of the mountain. Instead, I just set a time. “Let’s do 40 minutes today.” I set an alarm for 40 minutes later.

While smelling the forest and daydreaming as we climb, when the alarm goes off, I say, “Oh, now let’s go down and eat something.” When my body feels a bit lighter, I say, “Shall we go a little bit further?” When I’ve sweated enough, we head straight down.

40 minutes plus 40 minutes is 80 minutes, which is 1 hour and 20 minutes. For an ex-workout-hater, it’s pretty good.

This has its own charm, different from diligently climbing toward the top.

If we see a beehive, we look at it for a while, and if we hear a woodpecker, we look around to find it.

There’s the charm of free mountain climbing.

My husband asked me why I was doing the splits (or, to be more precise, trying to do the splits), while my face was distorted with excruciating pain (such a drama queen!).

Well, boy, it’s the same reason why you are doing the planche, with your whole body trembling.

It’s just because.

I’ve started doing a short meditation before starting my work.

As I usually did meditation in the early morning or late at night before going to bed, it’s actually the first time for me to do it in the midmorning before work. I’ve been doing it with about 5-minute-long guided meditations on Audible, closing my eyes and taking deep breaths. It seems to clear my mind after all the fuss in the morning and help me get ready to work with optimized productivity.

My head and eyes feel clear like right after waking up, and there’s this strange feeling of openness and coolness around my spine and shoulder blades.

Now, fulfilled and ready to work.