Walking, more than exercise

The walk was familiar from my old apartment house to my old office. For almost ten years I was able to walk to and from work, taking about 20 minutes to do so.

I had stayed last night with former neighbors, enjoying catching up with the news and basking in the warmth of their friendship and hopefully sending out some of my own.

I was meeting a former colleague for lunch.

There are two routes to my old office, one that is grassy with a short cut through a mini wood. Since the cherry tree in front of ILO still isn’t in bloom, I opted for the Route de Ferney, more heavily trafficked and the one I used to use when I walked in the dark. However, I still passed the field with the horses, and I noticed chives were sticking up along the side of the road. Nestled between them were violets, my favourite flower.

Although it hasn’t been that long since I stopped working, the new WIPO building has wiped out a vacant lot where trees sprouted mushrooms that would make seats for elves with weight problems or dwarfs without. The two-story, three-legged chair symbolizing the damage of land mines is gone as a huge redevelopment project is taking place in front of the UN.

The temperature was good.

After lunch I continued walking downtown to finish the rest of my errands enjoying each flower along the way. Nothing spectacular but excellent for inner peace. And I will go back in a week or so to catch that cherry tree, and again a week later. Whenever it sheds its blossoms it looks as if there had been a pink snowstorm.