Walking
I love to walk.
Every day I take a four to five mile walk and magic happens. The walk is never the same, although the path remains so. Different cars drive by me, trees are in different stages of development, birds are chirping or quiet, I am surrounded by a whole variety of life. I have begun to vary the time I walk. Morning is different than mid-day different than day’s end. This time of year in Phoenix, I’ll wear long pants and a sweatshirt for my morning walks, mid-day attire will be shorts and t-shirt, and evening is back to the long sleeves.
During my walks I receive “downloads” or cosmic insight. It was during a walk that I realized I needed to feel the absence of love in my life to recognize its presence. This changed the texture of my being and the direction of my life’s work. I forgive and bless on walks. And I practice being fully present. I practice being in my body, feeling my feet on the ground. I practice feeling and experiencing the sensory data surrounding me. I discover peace regardless of circumstance.
I am aware of many other artists, writers, and contemplatives who swear by walking. Just yesterday I listened to an interview between Rev. Dr. Michael Beckwith and Julia Cameron. She wrote a book on walking and has made it one of her three creative tools. She says when you walk you are “alone with your Higher Power.” She also says “it’s as if you walk out with problems and walk in with solutions.”
This morning while working on my book I looked up how quickly our bodies regenerate. I love that all parts of my body renew themselves regularly. To get the specific timeframes for each body part, I found a website entitled www.agedefyingbody.com. On the left side of the site there is a menu bar and “forgiveness” caught my attention. Clicking on the link to see what it has to say, I read “anger is released from the body through walking.”
Walking then, clears the mind, heals the emotions, sustains the physical and connects us with God.
Gotta go, my walking shoes are calling me,
