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Getting some fresh air can easily be achieved by simply taking a walk outside. This activity has many health benefits as a countless number of physicians, physical therapists and health experts will confirm. Taking a walk outside can, typically, be accomplished anywhere and at any time.
Although I am not a morning person — only wanting to engage in conversation after I have had my coffee — I can still appreciate the natural beauty and bustle morning time brings. The sky seems fresh and the road seems more forgiving.
Afternoon walking presents an opportunity for a siesta, of sorts, to the activity and structure of the day. Evening is my favorite time for a walk as I find that my well-being is enhanced by what I already accomplished and what I have yet to experience. Unfortunately the joys of walking outside lately seem to be mitigated by my need to constantly look down in order to avoid stepping in discarded trash, animal waste or potholes which resemble miniature K-2 crevasses. If walking is a symbolic metaphor for going somewhere, then it is fair to say that looking forward when you walk is symbolic of focusing on a future. Given this, what does looking down say?
If I am being honest, looking down when I walk is starting to annoy me. I don’t want to look down as I have always been a “forge ahead” type of gal, but when I don’t concentrate my efforts on watching out for what is in front of me, I end up nearly twisting an ankle or stepping in dog poo or stepping on a discarded, half-eaten bag of chips that may or may not be contaminated with a lethal toxin.
I can understand that potholes are a natural result of weathered road use, but, people, please, I beg you … stop throwing your trash out the window. And if your dog does what a dog is supposed to do on a walk, please don’t leave it on the road where someone else can step in it. Maybe pick it up or fling it into the woods.
As I reflect and wonder why I am now focusing my gaze downward during my precious outdoor walks, I guess it is fair to say that I am looking down in order to avoid a messy consequence because, in the end, unless I am planning on going home and licking my shoes clean, it doesn’t really matter if I step in trash or dog poo.
Or, perhaps I am looking down as a means of giving myself more control over my environment. Given the state of our country and an unyielding pandemic, this could make sense.
Or, better yet, maybe I am looking down because I do not yet know my way forward and I need to reidentify with my roots, finding content with where I am now. Or maybe, because I am getting a bit older, I just really don’t want to sprain my ankle…Ouch! Ouch!
Kathy Naumann, possessor of NATURALLY curly hair and the understanding that you can’t control everything!
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