London - A Quick Pit Stop

I love London. I lived here for so long and know it so well, it is instantly familiar as soon as I step off the plane. Whether walking through M&S, along the highstreet or waiting for the underground, it is just so very comfortable. It is nice to be back.

I am only here for a day before we fly out to Santorini – just enough time to get over a little jet lag, have dinner in a pub garden (I do love them), do a few errands and repack my bags ... literally everything out and then everything back in ... (when I left Vancouver I had tried to pack for all three trips – Europe, Africa and India and now only take what I needed for Europe – it was a process ...).

I also managed to get to a yoga class at the London Iyengar Yoga Institute – it was good - the first class I had been to in a while and it was perfect for my jet lagged state with lots of stretching, forward bends and twists – I felt re-energized. The institute is lovely – set in the residential Maida Vale neighborhood, it is back from the street in a purpose built building with lots of windows – the light and the greenery outside all make their way in. The teacher was good – though I was surprised by the lack of the hands on corrections – not sure if it is just him or the "institute" (I always wonder a little at places that call themselves that ...). My one key take away from his class was what he called our second knee – right above the real one – it was a good metaphor for the experience of lifting your quad when working to pull up your legs.

The friend I am staying with rents from a woman whom I had met when I was last here, a little over a year ago – we were at surprisingly similar places in our lives – same age, both about to leave senior positions in organizations we'd been with for a long time and contemplating what to do with our time off / what next. However, shortly after, she was diagnosed with breast cancer – since then she's been through chemotherapy, radiation, surgery and now more chemotherapy. Clearly our last 12 months, which once might have been quite similar, have been dramatically different. We had some good conversations and I give her huge credit for how she is living – a lot of courage, fortitude and exploration – she's leveraging alternative therapies and has put a lot of focus on her nutrition, which seems to have had a really positive impact on how she's responded to the side effects of her treatment and overall state of well being. I admire her and my fingers are crossed that she'll get an all clear at the end of this course of chemo. I was struck hard with a “but here by the grace of God go I” moment. Life is unpredictable at best – to be treasured and lived to the fullest each day.