à la carte spirit by ilona fried
Walden Pond
The Water Gives. The Water Takes.
Last Saturday I arrived at Walden Pond around 6:30pm. A firetruck and two police cruisers, lights flashing, were already stationed on the side of the road. The parking lot remained open so I turned into it, found a spot, grabbed my swim gear and walked to the pond’s main entrance. “It’s closed,” said a uniformed cop at … Continue reading
Awareness Through Meandering: Walking in the Woods, Differently
How many times can you visit a place without getting bored? I used to be a checklist kind of gal. If I visited an area once, I wanted to move onto the next. When I was an avid hiker, I didn’t want to repeat trails or summits when there were others I hadn’t climbed. Nor did I want to … Continue reading
When the Swimmer is Ready, the Wetsuit Appears
As recently as this summer, I told my younger brother how I hated wearing a wetsuit. I hated getting into, and getting out of, a wetsuit. Getting into a wetsuit is like putting very thick, and extraordinarily expensive, panty hose on your entire body. You have to maneuver the fabric so there are no wrinkles or saggy bits … Continue reading
Off the Mat: A Feldenkrais Picnic
Perfection is, in itself, an idiotic way of living – Moshe Feldenkrais, Amherst 1980 On Saturday I packed a picnic lunch to take to the Hapgood Wright Town Forest near Walden Pond. My gluten-free goodies included a ripe avocado, a few small tomatoes, a chunk of goat milk cheddar cheese, a plastic container of leftover quinoa salad, an energy … Continue reading
Feldenkraising Walden Pond
Temporarily, I’m living within driving distance of Walden Pond (Concord, MA), one of my favorite spots anywhere. I began visiting there around 14 years ago when I lived in the Boston area. It’s the place I learned to relish swimming in open water, an activity that once filled me with immeasurable dread. Unlike other local swimming holes, Walden Pond is … Continue reading
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