Day 3: Spriting and Tea

Of the things I miss most from before Alder long urban walks by myself is the top of the list. They used to be a daily occurrence, now I still can take them but I have Alder with me which means that I don't cover quite the same distance nor have the same luxury of letting my mind wander as freely as it did.

The first morning that we were in Santa Fe I took off by myself for a walk. I wanted to see what the city looked like away from the downtown. I walked for over an hour in residential neighborhoods. I had hoped to find a local coffee shop to sit in but the direction I chose was purely homes. The weather started out the perfect day for walking, the sky was white but the unseen sun was bright. My mind wandered further than my walk emptying itself of kinks and dust. I call this spriting, it is sort of the opposite of seated meditation since you are constantly moving and letting your mind think about what ever it comes across. When you have come to the end of your spriting your mind is as empty as meditation but the process has none of the forcing that meditation has in it.

My wandering lead me to The Tea House that was located on Canyon rd near the galleries. It welcomed me as the weather began to turn nasty. This is one of those places where you can lose an hour or six, drinking tea (from a six page menu) and getting comfortable at a table or in comfortable chairs and couches. The tea house actually has five or six rooms. I found myself at in a cozy leather chair in a room with a kiva fire place.

I was not willing to move from the Tea House so I told everyone else to meet me there. I knew Kevin would like it, in fact he says it was his favorite part of the trip.

From Spring Break ...