Enjoy the Walk – Day 25

28-Day Personal Challenge

Don’t Rush the Walk, Enjoy the Walk

Today I remembered to enjoy the walk. It’s not easy to slow down when I go out for a walk, I’m focused on the exercise aspect of it. Particularly when I’m by myself. However, today, I enjoyed my walk.

I went to my favorite trail. The weather was perfect, sunny and cool. The air was fresh, oh so fresh. Clean, with a hint of dew, freshness. The trail was perfectly, sparsely, populated. In which I mean, there were a few people, but it was still calm and quiet, and lots of alone time before coming across a person here and there.

My Intention

…was to do two laps as fast as I could. Get myself a starting point from which I could do better with each visit. I haven’t been to this trail in almost a year.

It takes thirty-five minutes one direction to get there. So I’ve put it on the back burner because sometimes it’s too difficult to squeeze in an hour plus of travel time, more if I mistime and end up stuck in rush hour traffic or school traffic.

So today’s goal was to get a starting frame of how long it would take me to walk the trail and what my pace would be.

Instead…

…I slowed down. First, it was the air, so incredibly refreshing, I couldn’t inhale enough of it. Then it was the lure of the side trails which led me to the lake’s edge and the beauty of the still lake.

Then I had to take pictures because I love nature. And even though I’ve taken a gazillion pictures of this trail there seems to always be a new nook or crevice, or tree in a different state of growth or decay that calls out to me.

And finally, it was the man I came across who pointed out a turtle to me. But before I could spot the turtle it had dipped into the water. So the man pulled up the pictures he’d taken on his phone. Then he told me that there are freshwater otters that come in the lake.

I’ve never seen one in the lake, not sure how they would get in the lake or where they would go after, but hey, gives me something to check into. I love learning. Maybe, I’ll learn I’m a sucker for a good old yarn. But maybe I’ll learn that there really are otters and just maybe I’ll get to see one.

And that’s how slowing down…

…gave me the opportunity to enjoy the walk.

I get we need to keep a brisk pace for health benefits, but maybe one walk a month, choose to slow down, take notice of the foliage as it changes month to month. Nod at those that pass, stop and listen when someone talks.

Really enjoy the walk.

Previous 28-Day Personal Challenge Posts

• Day 1
• 2- Finding Focus
• 3 – Distraction-Free Writing Tips
• 4 – My Morning Routine
• 5 – Random Lesson
• 6 – Benefits of Basics
• 7 – Favorite YouTube Channels
• 8 – He Doesn’t Bite
• 9 – Now What Are You Going To Do?
• 10 – Challenge Check-In
• 11 – The Struggle
• 12 – Revisit Previous Material
• 13 – Diet and Exercise Basics
• 14 – ReTool the Plan
• 15 – Favorite Ways to DeStress
• 16 – Adenomyosis
• 17 – Life’s Little Moments
• 18 – Snippets of Writings
• 19 – Easy Challenge
• 20 – Elbow Grease
• 21 – Love of Reading
• 22 – Web Surfing
• 23 – Three Simple Recipes
• 24 – Abandoned Buildings