A Question Of Balance

"And with his eye of compassion.
He saw his enemies like unto himself,
And he learned love.
Then, he was answered."

The Balance - Moody Blues

I've decided to spend a reflective day on the island again.  After morning meditation I feel drawn to the "cairns" beyond the castle, the piles of pebbles left by visitors.

After the usual detours to get photos I find someone doing something a bit different.  He's balancing the pebbles and rocks vertically, not just laying them flat.  I watch him for a short while, mesmerised by the patience and the gentle adjustments until the rocks are balanced, then he stands back and begins another.  He's a teacher from Switzerland [Zurich], here on a walk down the Northumbria coast, having started in Edinburgh last Sunday.  Something of a pilgrimage for him too so we find plenty to talk about as his spoken English is better than mine!  We arrange to meet for dinner later as I have more photos to get, and a visit to St Cuthberts Island for a Meditation.

Shock/horror, the store is out of crab sandwiches so I head off to the Post Office to get one made up for me.  Next stop St Cuthberts Island, a small island that, yes you guessed, gets cut off from Holy Island by the rising tide.  So I have to choose my time for Meditation, otherwise I'll be stuck on there until 10 o'clock tonight and miss dinner.  A party of school children playing on the beach, but as I cross to the island the breeze takes any noisy distractions away and I'm left to my crab sandwich lunch with only the calling seals for company.

A walk up onto the headland to the viewing tower and then back to the cottage to process some of the photos before dinner.  So many photos to choose from....

I meet Patrik at St Marys Church at 5.30 to join the pilgrims for evening prayer, then we head off to The Ship for a pint and a meal to round off the day.  Plenty to talk about over dinner, it's surprising how different it is to have a shared meal.  There's no distracting background music and there are only about half a dozen others in tonight, my first - and last - meal out at the pub.  Wonder how I'll make it up the stairs after a pint...