August 26,2024
Do I stay in bed scrolling through the stories “the algorithm” chose for me? Maybe going for a walk in my neighborhood park would be better. It is. It’s always better!
On my first step off the street into the woods, I breathe and sigh, “Yes! I’m here! Oh yes, this is my place to be!” Colors, sounds, myriad relationships in balance flood my senses.
Reaching the mowed grass paths, I shed my shoes, greeting with a silent gesture of thanks the woman who enticed me to walk barefoot by her own practice. I rejoice in gratitude for this space. Somehow it has been mowed without me having to hear the machines!
I walk 30 minutes around and around the meadow, delighted by goldfinches and thousands of late summer flowers in all stages.
I remember that today is the 199th anniversary of my Dad’s birthday. How to honor it any better than to walk in Nature, his finest legacy for me?
I don’t want to leave as the time for going to visit my mother in assisted living approaches. Walking in Nature IS always better than most activities I can think of doing. I choose to organize the rest of my life around walking in Nature – and sharing that with others.