Woke up feeling a bit empty. Just a general despondency and not quite sure why.

My lower back on the right hand side is still aching and hurting.

I can’t move my leg properly without searing pain.

I thought during my walk today, when I was feeling particularly low about everything, about something that came up in a Robert Sapolsky interview.

It really stuck with me.

“Could you explain your problems to a hippo?”

I did this in my head and it helped a little bit.

I’ve got the hippo opposite me, what would I tell him?

I would tell him that my back hurts and I’m finding it difficult to walk.

He would nod sagely and he would understand. He has had days where he has felt uncomfortable and it is not a nice feeling.

But everything else, every frustration with things going wrong with the house or with work or the thousand other frustrations of modern life leave him staring blankly at me.

“Don’t worry about it” he says. “Have you got food?”

“Yes”, I say.

“So what’s the problem?”

It helps to explain your problems to a hippo sometimes. They always break things down to their simplest terms.

Went for a fantastic walk to Wanstead Park later in afternoon.

The act of walking, particularly in nature is incredibly therapeutic, but it doesn’t kick in in for at least 20 or 30 minutes.

I’ve found you need to be going for at least that long to start feeling any benefits.