365 Days of Wonderful ~ Day 4
I like to start my day with yoga and a morning walk. Some days I add in free weights, to tone my arms. I like moving my body. I feel better when I get out and breathe fresh air into my lungs, take in the sights and sounds of the day, and feel the weather upon my face. [I live in Seattle, so that usually means dampness… LOL, not like rain… here the rain isn’t usually wet… but I digress.]
I think of this as my time with God. I walk. I pray. I watch the eagles soaring in the sky. I enjoy the color of the light on the mountains. I appreciate the clouds, and the water, and the beauty that is all around me. I generally take the same route, I head down to the bay, and I walk along the water.
Most days I walk out on the public dock. I like to hang my toes over the end of the dock and peer down to see if I can see the bottom. I look for crab, and notice the muscles and sea pens just below the water line on the edge of the dock. I imagine that IF I lived some place warm and sunny that I would dive into the water. Sometimes on windy days I lay down on the end of the dock and feel the force of the wind in my face, and the spray of the waves, and the rise and fall of the water. This for me is pure unadulterated connection to nature. National Geographic Eat Your Heart Out.
Grace runs at the ducks and makes them fly. I think she imagines that she’ll catch one, and I think the ducks humor her and enjoy the exercise in her futility. I am certain that is what dog dreams are made of.
Each day I am graced by the morning light. With skies hand painted by the best apprentices. I am certain there is a sky painter position in heaven. I think when I get there I will apply for this job. I love that some days they paint the mountains over with grey clouds, as if the mountains are sleeping in.
Today’s walk yielded up a message handwritten on one of the rocks by the shore: “God has something in store for ALL of us. Give him a chance.” “That is for sure.” I thought. And it of course was perfectly timed, as I was asking God about direction and praying for my dreams to realize.
I like to pick up trash while I am out there. It is good exercise to bend over, and over, and over. It’s like Litter Yoga. I’m also staying manually dexterous with my fingers, and enhancing my hand-eye coordination, all while protecting our harbors and sea life, and tidying up the town in the process.
This walking is like a movement meditation. Walking, breathing, trotting up hills, carefully navigating rocks on the shore, and diligently crossing streets with care…all of it is a mindful lesson in proprioception; it helps with balance, depth perception, and keeps my inner auto pilot finely tuned. It might look like I am just walking, but I am also staving off Alzheimer’s while I am stimulating my neuroplasticity and talking to the big guy upstairs [this is multi-tasking at it’s finest].
Can I just say that today I am so supremely grateful for the health of my body, for the beauty of my walking path, for the flowers in the shrub that don’t seem to care that it is the 5th of January. This is an absolutely beautiful planet that we are graced with. I am in awe of each and every detail, orchestrated for our pleasure. I am grateful for my faithful walking partner who is as adept at enjoying the details that I might overlook–like each sniff tells a story that she can suss out with her attention.
Get Out. Enjoy the Day–as it is. Enjoy the wind. Enjoy the rain. Enjoy the light on the mountains, and the color of the clouds. Look for the flowers. Stomp in puddles. Enjoy being present to whatever life brings. It is all sacred.
365 Days of Wonderful ~ A Gratitude Practice for shifting the way that we think, and re-framing life with a slant toward the positive.
Blessings. ___________________ Individual Inquiry: Do you have a practice that brings you into the mindful movement of your body? What do you do to connect with nature? What birds did you see today?