Day 29

'Shoe' Pencil on Paper

Back to more familiar territory today with a pencil study... there's not any particular reason for today's 'draw' other than I wanted to draw an object... but as usual it conjures up a few thoughts that I'm obviously going to now allow to spill out over the next few paragraphs.

Walking is something that is a major part of my everyday existence and it's about the only exercise I manage to fit in on a daily basis. I tend to walk pretty much every where I go as I have done since I was a kid for various different reasons:

- I Cant drive nor have I ever taken a lesson.

- It's cheaper than a taxi.

- Most places I need to travel to are within a 20 min walk from where I live, for those that aren't I need to go there so I walk a bit further.

- I'm not a big fan of public transport as I tend to be a magnet for crazy meaning that all the drunks, people who shout at things that aren't there, people who smell weird and generally the type of people you never want to sit next to on a bus/train seem to always sit next to me.

- I'm a little too impatient to wait on people so at least by walking towards my destination I know I'm getting closer to it rather than waiting for a lifetime.

- It's exercise

- I suppose I kind of enjoy it.

It's one of those activities that allows us to collect our thoughts and I guess in some ways when you get to your destination I suppose that you do get that vague feeling that you've actually achieved something. It is also an activity that can be quite challenging and rewarding, as I found out fairly recently after partaking in a 50km charity hike in the Mourne mountains. Some friends of mine had got together a team but a few weeks before they were due to take part someone dropped out so I volunteered my services, even though I hadn't really had any training, it was a case of underestimating exactly what it would entail. The hike started at 12 midnight on Fri, involved a 2 hour orienteering exercise and having to walk through the night and into the next day. The physicality of the task coupled with not being able to get any time off work prior to taking part meant that it was pretty tough but I have to say that the feeling of crossing the finish line was something that was... well exhausting, really excruciatingly exhausting, in saying this though it was quite uplifting as well. I then see this drawing challenge in a similar light, I know there are going to be times where I'm going to struggle, times where I'll think what the hell have I gotten myself into... but I know for a fact that once it's finished I'll have achieved something and I'll have that sense of elation that goes hand in hand with carrying through with any challenge. I think then that over the next few months it may be important to attempt to integrate more people into the challenge as well, start up some collaborative work as this seemed to be a major part of being able to keep going during the hike, mainly as it's one thing to let yourself down but letting someone else down is much worse... so you tend to keep going to ensure that those on the journey with you keep going as well. It's definitely something worth thinking of over the next few weeks and see how I can get more people involved in the '365 Draws of the Year'.