For many years I have practiced daily walking outdoors. These quiet, meditative times allow me to relax and escape my monkey mind cage.
Daily walking requires a certain self-discipline, because realistically every day does not offer “perfect weather”. (We all have our own definition of that. If we didn’t, people wouldn’t talk about the weather so much!) I have walked in cold, rain, snow, and gloom as much as I have enjoyed sunshine and bright, shiny walks. I have come to love all of it.
Here’s the thing: I love sunshine as much as the next person, and when we’re feeling down, the sun can be a real mood lifter. But depending on what I’m dealing with in my day, sunshine can feel like a good friend trying to jolly me out of my problems, rather than allowing space for my mood.
My observation over the years is that those moody, rainy, snowy, cloudy days also have their own merit for solitude and introspection. They are the perfect back drop to quiet my conscious mind. There I inevitably find the space for the true answers to come through from my subconscious.
Rain or shine, nature is my therapy. Without fail, I find the beauty, grace, quiet and solitude I need to transcend the rat race.
Moods
Sky dons her mood face,
sulking clouds mirror my mind,
silent I reflect.
Rejuvenate
When city voids me,
I flee to garden refuge.
Hummingbird dances.
“Some people feel the rain. Others just get wet.” ~ Bob Marley
“Sunshine is delicious, rain is refreshing, wind braces us up, snow is exhilarating; there is really no such thing as bad weather, only different kinds of good weather.” ~ John Ruskin
“As long as this exists, this sunshine and this cloudless sky, and as long as I can enjoy it, how can I be sad?” ~ Anne Frank, The Diary of a Young Girl
“I am a tiny seashell that has secretly drifted ashore and carries the sound of the ocean surging through its body.” ~ Edward Hirsch
The haiku Rejuvenate is from Soul Journey: The Poetry of Life
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Susan L Hart / Author 
I used to walk every day too. I miss those times. I would set my intent and walk with mindfulness, ending up in a bench by the river, where I would meditate. It was the river’s moods that taught me so much.
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I hope you can return to it in future, VJ. There are few things that make me feel as good as a good walk, especially in a nature setting.
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You’re right about daily walking as a form of discipline Susan. I do partake and even now with temperatures in the minuses. Though not if the minuses hit the double digits with high winds. Walking has so many benefits, mentally, physically and spiritually.
Thanks for your lovely post.
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Thank you, Alegria. 🙂
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