12.22.13 When you walk and leave behind the winter couch potato.

When you walk and leave behind the winter couch potato. ( uuuhhhh! It's DARK! It's COLD! What the heck ? I'm supposed to bundle up, now , and WALK????) trust me, all these cool things happen. 

Your organs rub together and get rid of crap, and your blood starts moving about more effectively and your brain gets fresh air and you start to lift your eyes to the horizon and all the things you wish never happened, or all the things you always thought would happen that cause you grief because they didn't 

... Fade into an overall perspective, and as you walk along, ice, snow, rain, cold, dirty dishes or crabby someone back home, it slowly is all lifted .

 From your mind and your shoulders and your clenched fists and your sense of exhausted aloneness and sometimes hopelessness . And you just walk and there is nothing else to do in this moment, see? Nothing to think or plan or review in your mind. The more you take each step while watching the trees bend in the wind, feeling the cold winter air travel deep into your beautiful human lungs, the easier it becomes to not think about the past .

 Or the future. Soon, when you walk, you find yourself having a sense if a path. Of your own. That you are walking along . Soon, you get this feeling of wandering from this wonderful new path whoever your mind veers toward thoughts of the future. 

Or of the past. Agh! You stumble and begin to trip! Steady yourself, and get back on your path . No thoughts . Wow. It really feels so different. Feels good. Your shoulders soften . Your breathing deepens. 

You glance at the powelines. You think about electricity. You look at the lines go into the house you walked by. You think about your electric bill. You think about your take home pay. You think about the car 's tuneup next week. BAM!!!! You almost fall face Forrest's off the path. Geeze!! What the heck!! Ok, ok, you stumble bCk up on the path, neck tight, more anxiet, breath more shallow. You start to GET it! Wow. Ok. 

1. You're walking on a path

2. You are thinking of nothing in the past or future. 

3. As you just walk and feel your legs move you ing Zander how your feet meet the ground and how the air smells today, your neck relaxes. Your shoulders drop. Your heart lightens and the nerves Round it loosen nicely. You begin to swing your arms as you walk. You begin to walk with your whole body, just checking it out. Like Goofy, all loose and all. 

Geeze, is anyone seeing you? Oh who cares. You feel lightened. Your head feels lighter. It feels so good . Along comes a memory. 'Yup' you say to yourself , feeling how that felt. Staying on the path. Then off the memory goes and here you are, just right now. 

All loosely goosey. Without a care. Just for now. You suddenly recal a task you forgot to do, at work or home or school or for your partner or kid or parent. You stub your toe , begin to veer off the path. Ow! You get back on and settle down. You're rely starting to get it now. You get home or back to work or whatever. You feel relaxed. Calm . Clear. Focused. That's the magic. Just like that . And each time - it just -gets better.

Photo- one of many amazing convenient local paths-right off rt 9 in Hadley, The Adele Dawson Conservation Area. Park your car or bike, get out, climb to the rise , and stroll by the side of the grand Connecticut.