Life by Design: Walking, Walking, Keep on Walking
“One Step At A Time” from the Treedom Collection. Now available as a print on canvas or paper.
I love walking! It’s been such a huge blessing in my life – physically, emotionally, mentally, spiritually and socially.
Walking in the city connects me to humanity, to the pulse of a culture, to history, and to architecture (like in Vienna last year).
Walking in nature, my favourite, connects me to Source, to Mother Earth, to my Higher Self and to my intuition.
While walking, I can think things through and let things go. I can reach meditative, contemplative, or appreciative states much more easily than at home.
I also get great ideas when I’m walking. It’s the best time to rehearse speeches, repeat affirmations, work out lessons, receive guidance, or just breathe.
Where do you like to walk? Do you prefer walking alone or with friends? What does walking help you with? Please share in the comments below.
The Walking Monk
Earlier this week, I participated in a series of events with Bhaktimarga Swami, the Walking Monk. So far, he’s walked across Canada 3 times, either starting or ending here in St. John’s. He’s currently getting ready for a walk across the United States. He does this to raise spiritual awareness – his own and that of others along the way.
On Monday, he shared his “Tales from Trails” – stories about his insightful and often breathtaking adventures, including interesting encounters with grizzly bears and fellow humans. Listening to him, I couldn’t help but acknowledge how much walking contributed to my own spiritual growth over the years.
On Tuesday morning, a group of us joined him for a walk around Quidi Vidi lake and through the village. Would you believe I had my hat and gloves? We are getting a few nice summer days here and there, but it’s still near freezing at times too. Still, I’d rather it be on the cool side than too hot.
That evening, we gathered again for an evening of universal truth, kirtan singing, and dancing. I love these Sanskrit (an ancient Indic language) call and response chants – I usually sing & dance to 3 of them on my mini-trampoline in the morning to start the day off on the right foot.
The Work-At-Home Walking Challenge
For the past several decades, I always chose to live within 30-60 minutes walk from where I worked or studied. When I could, I’d make sure that nature trails or parks were on that route. Being a destination walker who dislikes crowded buses and has never owned a car, I had no problems walking 1-2 hours a day in every kind of weather to get to work, but things are different now.
As an artist and entrepreneur working from home, I’ve had to push myself out the door and even borrow the neighbours’ dogs for motivation. I know how important walks are for me, but I rarely made the time this past year.
Listening to the Walking Monk this week has reminded me of how much walking is essential to my well-being.
St. John’s not only has an amazing network of nature trails within the city (including one a few blocks away that leads to our biggest park), but is surrounded by the famous East Coast Trail that follows the coast of this gorgeous island.
It’s time to hit the trails. After a year as a happy hermit, I am committing to walking more.
Walking is great! When working at home, you could think about ‘walking’ to work by leaving ‘home’ by walking around the block or to a special spot and walk back to ‘work’. You then repeat when going ‘home’ as work does need to have an end before supper:). By mentally thinking about the change of purpose, you may feel more separated between work and home time. I hope that made some sense:).
That’s great advice Paige! I smiled as I could see a few things I would need to change… yesterday was a studio day, from 5am to 8pm with a short lunch and dinner break… Being a destination walker, however, your idea of “walking to work” instead of “going for a walk” may just do the trick. Thanks and happy walking!