Walking in Brecon - World Mental Health Day
- Colin Brown
- Oct 10, 2022
- 2 min read
This past weekend I had the pleasure of meeting old friends in the Brecon Beacons and celebrating the life of a legendary man whom we served with in the Parachute Regiment, Paul Wood. Paul was an inspirational figure who never failed to bring a smile to peoples faces with his mix of Joie de vivre, enormous character and matching intellect. A friend missed by all.
On reflection this morning on World Mental Health Day a couple of thoughts came into my head that I wanted to share, that seemed relevant.
Presence
So often I find myself thinking about the future and the scenarios that could pan out, both good and bad. Inevitably this leads to excitement, stress, and often a weird mix of both driven by a want for something I do not yet have. I can easily forget how beautiful life can be by simply stopping, seeing and sensing what is around me and being grateful for what I have now.
This weekend walking up to the summit of Cribyn (the photograph is looking back from Cribyn to Pen Y Fan) I was so shattered that all I could concentrate on was my breathing and trying to not trip and embarrass myself in front of a bunch of youngsters: I think they were doing the Duke of Edinburghs Award. Of course I like to look back at a time when I could bounce across these peaks and visualize myself as a slightly older version of this self, I am sure the youngsters saw someone on the verge of a cardiac arrest........here is the point. When I got to the top of Cribyn my head was clear and I looked back over my shoulder and was in awe of the location, the view and how fortunate I was in that exact moment.
So on World Health Day, look around you and enjoy the moment, don't fret over the future, enjoy life today.
Friends
The evening of the Brecon Beacons adventure a group of us reconnected in Brecon for beers and curry. Some of us has stayed in touch over the years and some I had not seen for over 20 years. Within a few minutes it was as if no time had passed, the spirit, laughs and simple craic of that night was pure joy. It brought a warmth into me thinking back on Paul our absent friend as we recounted various stories and adventures, mishaps and near career ending atrocities.
Driving back from Wales to Suffolk yesterday I thought on why so long had passed without my reaching out to these folks and the fun we could have had, if we had stayed closer over the years. I think we all know that sometimes a craic with friends can lift heavy weights from our hearts, and maybe from others where this may not be so visible. Yet too often I have prioritised more "material" issues over the value of relationships, eroding these human connections and the power of relating and friendship. Relationships are critical to us as human beings, a lesson I have relearnt so many times.
So on World Health Day make a commitment to reach out to old friends, reconnect and share and smile.