PATHS

I took this photo in Menorca, a couple of weeks ago, after the talk I was fortunate enough to give at the beautiful Teatro Principal in Maó, the oldest opera theatre in Spain, from 1829. The photo shows the path which leads to the lighthouse at Punta Nati in Ciutadella. We were heading there to watch the sun set. It’s a delightful path, bordered by the stone walls you see everywhere on this Mediterranean jewel of an island. Step by step you come closer to the sea from the land, along a narrow path smelling of heather which ends in a column of light reaching out into the waters at night.

I like walking. I enjoy walking whenever I can do it. I’ve always liked it, but every day I feel more grateful for these legs that carry me along. Perhaps it’s because time drips away towards ageing, but you begin to appreciate what you used to take for granted: being able to walk, balanced, to go step by step along the ground, holding hands with your loved one. To be able to silently count your steps, the stairs, the squares on the pavement, like in a game of hopscotch: one, two, three, four… steps that become paths. Paths that become memories. Memories that become a lifetime. A lifetime that becomes a sum of footsteps at the end of the path.

Do you like walking?

Hugs and kisses,

Álex