“She says, hey babe
Take a walk on the wild side"

 

Lou Reed (1972)



 

A friend has just texted to see whether I fancy a walk tonight.

 

This is a regular Thursday activity, for us both.

 

I wouldn’t go so far as to describe these walks as being “on the wild side”, but the word “adventurous” does spring to mind!

 

We share a liking for the discovery of new (to us) footpaths, and some of these seem to be rarely trodden. Our walks will often involve us in clambering over fallen trees and wading through ankle-deep mud etc!

 

Despite (or perhaps, because of!) this, I am taking a great deal of pleasure in my newfound pastime, of taking long walks. 

 

In addition to the Thursday walks that I have just mentioned, I also walk regularly with one of my care workers, and on many occasions, alone.

 

I go for a walk on most days...

... and I’m not just talking about gentle strolls. 

 

I would hardly (well - not at all!) describe myself as a hardcore long-distance hiker.  I do however, like to make a bit of an effort.

 

For a start, I aim to reach the common target of 10,000 steps per day. With my stride length, this is about 5 miles, and I achieve it on almost every day. 

 

I also aim to burn at least 500 Kcal on each day (my clever wristwatch is loaded with some of my health data, and then uses things like step count, distance covered, heart rate etc. to make a guess at this figure).

 

And I often better it ...

 

My, usual daily step count is, about 12,000 (around 6 miles) and I will frequently exceed the burning of 600 Kcal. 

 

So why do I do it?

 

·      For a start, I’ve got plenty of time to engage in it. I can no longer go to work, and COVID has put a stop to a lot of other activities - loss = opportunity!

 

But, in all fairness, that explains, why I can undertake this activity. It doesn’t though, provide any indication of why I choose to exploit this opportunity, in such a manner.

 

Therefore:

 

·      It facilitates healthiness. The virus has precluded me from engaging in former activities, such as swimming, tandem riding and attending the gym. Laziness, rather, than the virus, has significantly reduced my running! Walking provides some compensation.

 

·      There are lots of good things to observe, and I am blessed by proximity to the countryside (an environment that, very much suits me).

 

This is within easy walking distance of my home.



And there are VERY many more scenes, such as (and often much more attractive than) this.

 

It also gives me further opportunities, to look at man-made structures, which are appealing, for a variety of reasons. These old miner’s cottages can be found on one of my walks, and I find their appearance and setting, to be very satisfactory.



Please excuse the skewed camera angle and bin in the foreground!   

 

I am trying to compensate for my memory difficulties, by taking a lot of photographs. As you can see though, I need to work on my photographic abilities, a great deal!

 

All well and good, having things such as these, to look at; but it goes without saying that I need to make a point, of noticing, and not missing them, by reason of many thoughts that are elsewhere. This is, of course a practical application of Mindfulness (the subject matter of my previous post); and

 

·      Provided that I do clear my head of unnecessary and unhelpful thoughts, and look at what is around me, I find walking to be mentally restful and I will usually return, feeling better than when I set off!

 

I started with a musical quotation, so I’ll finish with one:


“Walk this way, walk this way” 

 

Aerosmith (1975)


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