Most people think meditation is that act one engages in in which one sits quietly in a corner trying to calm ones mind. Years ago I upended that thinking and made it about getting so involved with something that it takes up my entire focus and enlightens, enthralls and encompasses my entire being when I am engaged in it. There are only a few things that can do this to me as it should be; here they are:
WWII
I have been a WWII buff since I was a very young man listening to fireside stories of my grandfathers, my dad and his friends and from my reading, viewing and listening. When BoB – Band of Brothers – was made and released it became a WWII focus of mine. Stephen Ambrose’s book is a cornerstone of this obsession of course but I also inform myself through the BoB podcast and the television series itself. Here’s how I work it.
- I listen to a podcast episode.
- I watch the TV episode
- I read parts of the book that I find relevant to this.
To cap it all I also watch Saving Private Ryan which is also based on Ambrose’s book and which contains some of the finest photography and dramatization that I know of. I’ve attended Masterclasses and YT classes and watched many documentaries that have smoothed out a lot of my knowledge about WWII and the aviation side of the war is of course a keen part of my research. In particular the evolution of the Spitfire – that aircraft that saved us all from Hitler and his goons – is an ongoing research effort of mine. Secrets of the Spitfire: The Story of Beverley Shenstone, the Man Who Perfected the Elliptical Wing is a book not to be missed.
I do this annually and oftentimes watch a BoB TV episode multiple times a year. The episodes Day of Days and Carentan feature high on this list of reruns.
Landy
Land Rover Defenders have been another obsession of mine for many years. I started with a Mini Cooper, progressing to Volkswagen Campers a little later and then onto Land Rover Defenders when a friend at the mining and construction company Spie Batignolle asked me If I could maintain his fleet of 244 Defenders.