A kayak for the summer

I will paddle through

The weather man just told us that the weather will soon be settling back into drought conditions, after a little spell of showers and a freshness in the air. We have had some delicious, cool blue mornings lately.

The months of May and September always were, predictable as clockwork, rainy periods in Jamaica. Now, the rain can come any time - or not at all.

Alas. We will soon be back to the dusty heat that makes my head dizzy and my thoughts blurred. Schoolboys and girls are fighting in our schools; the number of road crashes is increasing; there is a sense of anxiety (or is it me?)

In any case, it is going to be a restless summer, with or without hurricanes. I am trying to visualise myself paddling through it all, serene, as on a kayak, passing majestic mangrove roots, blinking at the sun sparkling on water, and waving to basking crocodiles along the bank.

I will have to work hard at mindfulness this summer. Starting…now.

Pristine mangrove forest in Salt River, Clarendon.