Walking Alone

 

A moving meditation...

For most of my young life, I approached walking as exercise. For this very reason I never made it past the front door.

As I got older, inevitable disappointments started to trickle in — the job I didn’t get, a failed relationship, and other life challenges.

One day I was so anxious I felt as if I would jump out of my skin and I bolted out of my house as if I were leaving the scene of a crime. I was filled with disillusion, painful memories and my own unrealistic expectations from the past.

There are different reasons for walking — to increase the heart rate and build strength, to solve a problem, or to finish that argument with yourself or with someone else.

There have been some days when I’ve been so terrified of what the future held and the changes that were inevitable that the only safe place for me was the present moment: walking alone, my feet against the pavement, the wind on my face, and my breath going in and out of my body. An hour later I’ve discovered that, to my amazement, I’m miles away from home and headed back feeling calm and centered. I have been walking ever since.

Lately I walk regularly for my soul and my body tags along. I walk to saunter and wake up to the world around me. I walk for a “moving meditation” — a fitness of the spirit. I try to quiet the voices in my head, take long strides, and concentrate on the slow, steady rhythm of my breath while comforted by the interior silence.

If you have had difficulty sitting down to meditate, you may want to give walking meditation a chance — especially on days with beautiful weather. If you are not a morning person, take a walk at midday, in the late afternoon or after dinner under the stars. Twenty minutes to a half-hour each day is a good amount of time to restore a sense of serenity.

I have been walking for many years now, and covered very long distances in the most delightful places. I learned to train myself to return to my awareness slowly to the physical act of walking, for here in the present moment, one step at a time, I have found peace.