14/06/2026
A weekend in London left me pondering something unexpected — not the city itself, but myself within it.
I’m used to rural Monmouthshire: space, quiet roads, familiar pathways. A rhythm that keeps me grounded and connected to the land beneath me.
Stepping into central London, I felt an immediate shift.
Noise.
Movement.
Density.
Metal, concrete, glass.
Nothing was upsetting — but I could feel my system reorganising.
In Shiatsu and Five Element thinking, we are always in relationship with our environment. Not separate from it.
My boundaries became more defined. My gaze softened downward. My awareness drew inward. My heart felt more contained — still warm, but less open to countless brief encounters.
Even my walking changed. A quicker rhythm. Less time in contact with the ground. I wondered: am I less connected here, or simply connected differently?
Underground felt like losing my orientation entirely — my usual landscape of hills and rivers replaced by something internal, less certain.
And yet Wood energy was everywhere: choices, routes, movement, direction.
Nature still found me — weeds in cracks, trees between buildings, flowers outside shops.
My eyes kept seeking it.
What struck me most was this:
How much energy unfamiliarity requires.
When nothing is automatic, awareness sharpens.
