Day 347- Because I Can’t Walk 20

If someone were to ask me why I walk five miles a day, my answer would be “Because I can’t walk 20”. If I could, I’d walk all day, every day. I only walk for about an hour because that’s all I can dedicate to it.

Walking daily is one of my coping mechanisms, more important than meditation, which I’ve been slacking off on lately. Walking isn’t just for my body, heart, and weight control. Walking is a way of burning off excess energy, anger, and frustration. Walking makes me feel like I’m doing something, getting somewhere, even though it’s only a loop, and I always end up right back where I started. When I get back, I’ve got 5 miles and about 8,000 steps done. Walking is a way to procrastinate and not do the other things I have to do.

I have various modes of walking, depending on my mood. Rarely I’ll walk in silence. Doing a walking meditation. Usually, I’ll listen to a podcast. Listening to a podcast is my favorite thing to do, if I have a podcast, that is always the first option. Podcasts are one of the most effective ways of reshaping my mind. Typically when I’m on my walk, that is my most straight thinking of the day, that time when I’m focused on my thoughts and aware of them, not just running on auto-pilot. Sometimes I will walk or even run for time. I will put on upbeat music for those days when I feel like I have extra energy. Sometimes when I walk, I play the music that expresses my angst. There are those days when you’re so down that you just have to wallow in it for a while. Sometimes I’ll play meditative music- kirtan or rainforest sounds. Yesterday I found a lacrosse ball at the start of my walk, and I bounced it for five miles. It was a weird kind of meditation.

I guess the best thing about when I’m walking is I can take my mind wherever I want it to go. I’m alone. Responsibilities are put on hold. I am in my own world, and for that hour, I am in complete control. Yeah, if I could, I’d just start walking now and never stop.