Do Less

Steady enough running this week, hauling my ass out of bed for 3-4 milers. I'm ever-intrigued by Dublin in the early morning and the way the city is becoming alive at 6.45. Of course in the worsening recession everyone is trying to earn a buck. There's a guy has set up a mobile coffee stall on the south quays by Macken Street, for example. The ever-friendly Metro and Herald freesheet girls and boys are a feature of morning Dublin. What crap wage must they be on, presumably before heading off to college or to clock on to some other dead-end job.

Our friends the free parking-space seekers are always in evidence, engines running in the early morning and doing their bit to speed up global warming. I try to remain serene about the bike riders that plague the pavements, mostly without lights. Not confined to Dublin this I know, and I reason that at least it is one less car on the road.

As for my mountain running career I think I have decided that - if God had wanted me to run up and down mountains he'd have given me a rather lither body and cloven hooves. But I might look at doing a one-off like the Wicklow Way Challenge which I know Crusaders target later in the year.

Now, here are some wise words from Tom Hodgkinson and I commend them to you.

The way to thrive in 2009 is simply to join the Idler’s Do Less Campaign. It’s simple: you just do less. That means less shopping, less driving, less holidaying, less working, less spending. And more sitting around at home, more reading, chatting and drinking. Doing less is cheap and easy and it’s kind to the environment. The era which privileged the busy high achiever is coming to an end. That system has been found wanting, and there is a new world out there, a world of more fun, more freedom, more time for reflection and contemplation, community and cooking, making and mending. John Calvin - you have so much to answer for.