Walking Meditations



The way in.

 For reasons that will become clear in the coming year I have decided to start walking. I have always loved to walk. When I was young I walked a lot. I walked to school, to friends houses, to the mall, downtown, anywhere I could. When I was older I moved to a bigger city to attend university and again walked everywhere as I had no car and no money for the bus. I logged quite a few miles and kept my muscles toned.
Now even older, I need to walk. A few summers ago I started walking through my neighbourhood and beyond on a regular basis during the summer. I loved being out in the fresh air staring at the blue skies while I walked. I listened to either James Blunt or Elton John while I walked. I had time to think; to process the events of the day and prepare myself for the days to come.Then we got a dog which meant walking during the rest of the seasons as well. The city opened up a special trail for us to walk, cycle, or ride horses on for exercise and enjoyment, and of course there are many parks and trails in the area which I can visit year round if I need to walk in solitude, surrounded only by chickadees and squirrels and the nattering of blue jays.

Walking is very therapeutic. In addition to being great exercise for the body it gives the brain work to do. This weekend we Canadians celebrated Thanksgiving. Every year my family drives to Blue Mountain road close to Charleston Lake in Ontario. We park along the gravelled shoulder and start for the long road in to the trail. This year the clouds hung low in waves of grey and white over the farmers fields. The road was muddy and peppered with puddles perfect for the boys and dogs we met along the way. Most people skirted them in favour of tramping through the grasses to the side of the road. My family wandered ahead while I hung back with my father. We walked in silence only stopping to comment on occasion or to chat with the friends he saw coming his way.

Dad stopping to tie his shoes. Notice the Keep Out sign!

Stopping to overlook a gurgling stream.

Walk this way.....

I took it slow so I could think. I wanted to hear the world without voices, cars and the humming of man made electricity. I stood on a blanket of pine needles that muted the sounds of footfalls. I turned off of civilization and tuned in to nature. I heard a woodpecker tapping against a fallen log. I heard rustles in the grass and water trickling over stones. I could smell the damp earth and the mouldy swamp. The air was crisp and smelled clean like sheets hung on a line. Everywhere there was movement. I spied ripples in the pond and wondered who made the first move? A beaver? A fish? There were ripples in the puddles too. Beetles ambled down the same trail as we working hard to clamber over pebbles while my family ahead were suffering to clamber over rocks on the mountain.



A maple leaf caught in the tangled web of branches.





The pond before the mountain.



My solitude came in short moments. Hikers of all sizes and ages were bursting through the brush and dismantling my daydreams. Young kids dragging their drunk friends home, serious hikers walking a mile a minute and children prancing through piles of leaves, looking for sticks and flowers. My dad and I reached the bridge to the path where the climb began and it was there I stopped again. My father left me with some apple slices and my mom's homemade chocolate chip cookies and water while he went forward to catch up with my family. I sat in silence and peace, resting.



Blue Mountain Road

I walk now. It relaxes me. It affords me time to think in solitude. It is good practice for good things to come.