Catching up!

Yes, a morning swim was a good idea, I think my soul's catching up! There's a saying I love (from the middle east ? sufi maybe?) that the soul travels at the pace of a camel. Since first drawing up the structure for my thesis 18months ago there's been this little message I slip in (one of many..) with that saying. I know it has something to say on the way we experience pervasive media, connections across time, space (real and virtual).

It was great to hear Plan B's project recently at the Nottingham Towards Pervasive Media event, Soul tracking, where Dan talked about the soul travelling at walking pace, and both he and Sophia were using an iphone app to track their emotional response to his journey and separation by travel. Early findings were that flights between Berlin and the UK with short research/work visits would take about a 3 day lag on his 'soul'.

I prefer the camel though, it feels more scope to run with wind in your hair. It sits well with me that the soul can carry a person with it, trot and gallop, play stubborn and refuse to move, carry it's own resources and survive even long times in the desert. So 3 days into arriving across the Atlantic (and most of this massive East to West landmass too) I wonder if my camel's caught up with me yet? How far can a camel swim! Or can they fly... a magic flying camel sounds like a creature for an Arabian geoartcache!

Which brings me to the catching. Swimming and a whirlpool. The light is different in the pool in the morning. Not the same beautiful ripples of light bouncing off the surface and reflecting on walls and windows that I love about evening swimming. Instead a much more work-like, present focus of moving through the water. Three things clarified as i swam over the same small area of the pool back and forth:

1. The magical creature of Canada is the magical creature of the Commons; that I can start to explore and invite people to bring to life with me here, and continue singing with it on my travels back and forth in Canada. This will be the 'public' project that I focus on here.

2. Spaces of Thought. Inspired and pondering by the 'space to think' , I realised that there are many spaces for thinking - thinking in different ways, and different kinds of space. Of course Clean Space (where I heard that I had been offered a place to come to Banff) may be a key to approaching and understanding, thinking about, this. 'Spaces of thought' feels like a structure that could deal with and address the various ideas I've come with - revisiting journeys, communication across time and place, interactive walks, reflection, creation and collaboration.  It feels good. It feels appropriate for here. More of a 'private' project. That I can share and learn from, articulate and interrogate with others whilst I am here.

3. Writing: I've been writing loads, and enjoying it, since modelling writing at my best. Now it's time to model academic writing at my best here in Banff, so that I can make use of the time to do that also, effective, enjoying and efficient.

With that, geology walks and messages from Jen, the day is comfortable, full and fluid... I may even have an evening before I fall asleep!