go outside

you might feel better

My notebook called out to me. The laptop beckoned. Dimly aware of their nattering, I stared out of the window.

“I want to be out there, not in here”, my body stated petulantly like a child demanding sweets.

My mind said, “Then go, already”. And so, I did just that.

I laced up my shoes, locked the front door, and took to the pavements, eventually leading me to nature.

one of my squirrel friends :)

For the past two weeks, I have been doing two-mile walks in the mornings after I drop my children off at their schools. I didn’t set out to do exactly two miles and sometimes I am a bit short of that exact number, but honestly, that’s not the point. I also didn’t set out to do it most mornings, but that seemed to happen subconsciously and so I’ve listened to my body and apparently what she wants, she gets.

These morning walks have helped me in more ways than one. Firstly, I get more steps in. While I am not doing these walks to reach some futuristic weight depletion, I do want to move my body more and get the blood flowing and my limbs a bit looser. Especially as one gets older, you want to keep everything working as it should be, and walking helps me do just that.

The second benefit and one that I think is also just as important, is that it helps me clear my head. If you’ve ever gone to bed at night and the minute your head hits the pillow, your mind decides that this is the perfect time to process your day and think about things that are truly not pertinent at 9pm, than you know exactly what I am talking about.

I don’t listen to podcasts or music on these walks. I just listen to whatever sounds the world wants to give me. I hear birds squawking. I see the squirrels running up the trees. I see the sunlight dancing through the leaves. I hear the people jogging and riding their bikes. I take it all in and I as I walk, I let my mind do its thing. I don’t resist any thoughts; I just let them pass through unfiltered. I walk and I process.

I walk and I process.

Our thoughts can bounce around like the ball in a ping-pong machine if we are not careful. One ball can become many and the overwhelm can begin its cascade. But these walks help facilitate my brain to go along its many pathways and take the minutiae and filter it out. What is important will stay there and when I get back home, what needs doing, shall be done.

Walking, even if it is just for ten minutes, is beneficial for both our bodies and our minds. They are connected, after all. It is not a requirement to walk several miles or hit 10,000 steps or any of those things. Just a few minutes of breathing in some fresh air can have the same benefit, weather permitting of course :)

We are in our last full month of the autumn season. Do you tend to get outside more or less as the temperature drops? Do enjoy going for walks? I’d love to know!