My feet hurt. OK, I know, it’s kind of whining, but the fact is, my feet hurt. It’s become perfectly clear that I’ve gotten soft in my old age. Just way too much sitting in front of a computer! It’s been great walking over to the apartment every morning, and then walking to the subway, then walking through the immense cultural icons of Beijing, then walking to lunch, then walking to the hotel, then walking to the apartment, then walking back to the hotel for the night. I haven’t done this much walking in years, and my feet think I have morphed into some cruel shadow of my former self. OK, the shadow part is a bit melodramatic, since the way I have been eating, my shadow hasn’t grown any less. That aside, I’m going to have to make this walking thing a more regular part of my routine at home. I like the pace. I like the ability to see what’s around me. I like sounds of birds. I like the sense that the world is whirling around me while I have “found” the secret to moving steadily and surely through it. I like catching glimpses of life as it unfolds in others, and becoming wiser for the lessons learned from experiences and voices outside of myself. I like being able to talk to God about these things as I amble along. And, I like the thought that if I keep this up, my shadow might actually grow less! It’s been good for my feet to remember what they were created for – so they can just quit the whining.