Walking

I like going for walks.

I enjoy walking for the same reason I enjoy doing yoga: it nourishes my mind, body, and spirit... as my yoga instructor would say.

There is a jogging trail near our house, making it so easy to tie on my sneakers and sneak out the front door and I'm on my way.

As I walk along I encounter other walkers. Some walk because they choose to, like me. Some are getting paid to walk behind a lawn mower or to deliver mail. Others are walking dogs or pushing strollers.

Sadly, I occasionally pass a walker who isn't walking for pleasure or exercise like me, but because they are homeless and must walk to move along to who knows where. Gratitude washes over me that when I complete my walk I will be returning to my home.

When we first moved into this neighborhood after living in England, I was so wide-eyed during my walks, taking in my new surroundings and studying each house I passed. Over time, the newness has worn off and now I get lost in my thoughts as I walk along. I take the same route each time, freeing my mind from focusing on where I'm going. I once got lost on a walk in England. I was talking to a friend on my cell phone and not paying attention and I got so turned around on those winding streets that I had to ask someone for help. Embarrassing! So a set route seems to work best for me.

I find when I walk with others, the time passes by faster, which is nice. But when I walk alone, I get a lot of thinking done. I've written some cool blog posts in my head on these walks. Most never got formally written down, but in my mind, they were quite good and that was good enough for me. 

Sometimes my walks turn into a walk down memory lane. I might be listening to music and a song takes me back to another time, a friend from the past, an event, a memory. As you can guess, I have a lot of oldies on my iPod.

Even just seeing a passerby that looks like someone I know or knew can spark a memory. A mom pushing a stroller takes me back to the 1990s when that mom was me. Joggers bring me back to the present as I think of my kids now.

I recently discovered a phone app that turns the miles you walk into a charitable donation. It's called CharityMiles. The app tracks your distance as you walk and then makes a donation to a charity you select from a list. It also works for cycling and running. Check it out: http://charitymiles.org

While I'm plugging products, I find a product called a FlipBelt works well to carry my phone with me when I walk. I tuck my phone in it and slip it around my waist and flip it over to hold my phone securely. It fits any size phone.

As I wrap this up, can you guess where I was when I dreamed up the idea for this blog post?

Happy Trails!