Peace
Posted: Thu Apr 10, 2008 10:45 pm
I've been walking to work off-and-on more lately, trying to "stick" to the concept of being a solid Urban Ranger. I usually would be in the car out of habit before I remembered I was going to walk, and I was already driving down the 1-way street away from home. I also noticed that my recurring complaint was "it might rain", so a couple days ago I bought a compact umbrella that will now go with me every day to work.
Why "Peace" as a topic? Because that's what I feel when I walk to and from work. Peace. Or peaceful, perhaps better stated. Today I saw a blue jay. It sounds simple and stupid, but it hit me when I saw the bird that I can't recall the last time I actually saw a real blue jay. Not because they aren't there, but because I spent all my time living, working, and moving inside a damn box.
My wife used to ride motorcycles and horses all the time, and would tell me all about the wonderful things she would see because she didn't have a roof over her head when she was riding. I guess that's just one of the things you miss when you block out 80% of what is really out there and only focus on life in one direction.
I also noticed I walk fairly slowly. When we walk the dog together, usually we do 2-3 miles for fitness so we move at a pretty good clip. But it turns out I'm not in any hurry to get to work at all!
And it gives me more time to notice how the neighbors landscaped their yard, or that the mom sits outside with the kids almost every day, or to see the ongoing wars between the birds and the squirrels.
One other thing I noticed is that there are a few other people walking too. More than I thought, but not as many as could be walking. And something I never thought about until I saw it today, a 10-ish year-old kid walking down the street. There was a time when we didn't have boxes to drive and had to walk around. And it wasn't 150 years ago, it was only a few years ago. How soon we forget!
So that's just my $.02 worth. Thanks Reinhard for making walking fun again. It's bringing a small sense of peace to my daily life, and my renewed interest in walking makes me more apt to walk the dog with my wife, which only enriches our relationship.
Why "Peace" as a topic? Because that's what I feel when I walk to and from work. Peace. Or peaceful, perhaps better stated. Today I saw a blue jay. It sounds simple and stupid, but it hit me when I saw the bird that I can't recall the last time I actually saw a real blue jay. Not because they aren't there, but because I spent all my time living, working, and moving inside a damn box.
My wife used to ride motorcycles and horses all the time, and would tell me all about the wonderful things she would see because she didn't have a roof over her head when she was riding. I guess that's just one of the things you miss when you block out 80% of what is really out there and only focus on life in one direction.
I also noticed I walk fairly slowly. When we walk the dog together, usually we do 2-3 miles for fitness so we move at a pretty good clip. But it turns out I'm not in any hurry to get to work at all!
And it gives me more time to notice how the neighbors landscaped their yard, or that the mom sits outside with the kids almost every day, or to see the ongoing wars between the birds and the squirrels.One other thing I noticed is that there are a few other people walking too. More than I thought, but not as many as could be walking. And something I never thought about until I saw it today, a 10-ish year-old kid walking down the street. There was a time when we didn't have boxes to drive and had to walk around. And it wasn't 150 years ago, it was only a few years ago. How soon we forget!
So that's just my $.02 worth. Thanks Reinhard for making walking fun again. It's bringing a small sense of peace to my daily life, and my renewed interest in walking makes me more apt to walk the dog with my wife, which only enriches our relationship.