Rhythm and Walks

Three posts in one day! I know I've had a lot to catch you all up on. I probably won't be doing it with this much frequency as time goes on. But these all felt like separate posts and I wanted to share. 

I haven't figured out yet, if the pace of life is slower here or in order to keep up, I have to move slower.  If that doesn't make sense, let me use the door to my building as an example.

My front door is two narrow doors. Only the left one opens. In the States, I'm used to unlocking and pushing the door open at the same time as I enter. So the first few times I tried the same thing here, it kind of ended in clumsiness. The door sticks, so once I unlock the door, I have to push and pull a bit to get it open. If my balance is off, leaning towards the door to enter, I would slam into it, and then when it gives, kind of fall forward ungracefully. I usually have bags with me and so with all that, I wouldn't fit cleanly through the door. So the falling and the slamming and the not fitting wasn't working.   Now, I unlock.    Then push and pull until the door is free.     Then I enter.     Then shut the door behind me.  They are separate motions, where in the States, with it's wide non-sticking doors, it was all one.  Here, each movement is deliberate.  There's something rhythmic and meditative about it. 

Or about walking around the city. I don't always know what I'm going to find or exactly how long it will take me to get there. And I can't do anything else until I get there. I don't have much data on my new phone, so I walk around looking up. And I can't get there till I get there, wherever it is, so there's no rushing. Of course, currently I have the luxury of time. No where else I need to be. But still, I like moving at this slower pace. Maybe also the change in weather is affecting this mood. Nashville was hot and humid. Brussels is definitely in autumn. Cooler weather. This morning I almost needed a jacket.  Almost. The past couple days, I've been wearing a sweater. Something about walking around, crisp air, not in a hurry, most of the time simply to explore. My black and white converse on cobblestone through old beautiful streets. It's a luxury of pace and meditation that I'm not accustomed to. Perhaps Belgians here would think I'm crazy. Perhaps they are rushing around in their cars, late to the next thing. Maybe they never notice the beauty of the architecture anymore or curse the cobblestones on behalf of their cars' suspension. Maybe they unlock, open and enter their doors in one fluid movement. And yet, I've been watching people sit at cafes with nothing to do but people watch.  I've noticed food takes a long time to arrive at the table in restaurants. Same goes for the server. I've noticed people stopping and having casual conversations, laughing, drinking, smoking. It makes me think that they too understand the beauty and the luxury of having no where to be and all the time in the world to be there.