Let’s Walk

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I love my daily walks.  They hadn’t been so daily once Chicago got cold.  I’d sworn that all I needed was warm enough clothes and I’d continue my daily trek.  But I didn’t fulfill that and missed a few walks, then a few more.  I wasn’t hitting it daily and my mood, and weight, and appetite, and sleep were all affected by losing that daily walk. Then I went on vacation.  Nothing like a crisp Arizona morning to get me out of bed, into my sneakers and out the door.

Daily walk on the Canal

Sunrise on the Canal

It was especially fun walking with this guy.

Walking BuddyAnd it was especially meaningful to walk with my husband.  Vacations are typically his time to sleep in daily, but when I gently touched his shoulder and said, “come on, let’s go for a walk,” he was up and out the door within minutes. The one day we missed our walk, we just kept missing each other all day long.

The walks are sometimes silent as we contemplate our own thoughts.  Other times, we talk the entire distance about our kids, homeschool vs private school, money (oy!), guns (we are in AZ), fiscal cliff, Dan Quail (funny he came up), flu virus, etc.  It’s nice to have 30 minutes to check in with each other.

When we walk together, we tend to touch hands more frequently throughout the day.  Smile more.  Speak more kindly.  Actually speak.  I’d love to find a way to continue our walks when we get home.  Much nicer to have a walking buddy.  If we can’t, perhaps it’s time for another dog.  I’ve been scheming to bring home Gunner, the goofy, sweet, gentle lab above, but he’s already taken.  Drat.

Any of you FB users come across this post by Michael Moore?  He’d started walking 30 minutes daily about nine months ago and thousands of his Twitter followers joined him.  In response to many of his followers wanting to know the Why for his daily group walk, he explains it’s not about dieting, changing, fixing oneself, etc.  He writes,

“Quit trying to be something you’re not, be happy with the life you’ve been given, and go for a pleasant walk outside.”

He goes on a friendly rant and wraps it all up by saying,

“The path to happiness – and deep down,we all know this – is created by love, and being kind to oneself, sharing a sense of community with others, becoming a participant instead of a spectator, and being in motion.”

I didn’t really know that I liked Michael Moore until I read this post.  I haven’t gotten a chance to sit alone with myself and contemplate the start of the new year and all I’d like to accomplish.  But at this moment, I would resolve to keep up with my daily walks – get outside and try to connect more with people.

What are your resolutions for the new year?

 

4 thoughts on “Let’s Walk”

  1. What a lovely post, Dominique. I love the idea of your walking with George, sometimes talking, sometimes not. Your talking about walking with people reminds me to start walking with Karl again. I think Kiku would appreciate it, too, having the company of Bailey.

    As for resolutions, I like to think of attempts to change as aspirations. That word seems to have a little more feeling of flexibility for me. In general, I will borrow from One Breath at a Time by Kevin Griffin. I’d like to recommit to “try to live a life based on the principles of compassion, awareness and openness”. Awareness I have a fair amount of, but compassion for myself an others needs working on, as well as openness.

    And in terms of specific things, I’d like to teach more Mindfulness and Stress Reduction courses; maybe get a website going; find more places to teach creative movement to both young and old; spend lots of time with family and friends; get a cool haircut; eat healthily more consistently; maybe start drawing again; simply enjoy living and having fun. Oh, and see more dance and art exhibits. And WALK!

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