Walk Away the Winter Blues

Finally, spring has arrived, days are longer and warmer and it’s time to walk off the “winter wearies” and welcome a re-invigorated sense of well-being.  Opportunities for organized walks abound at this time of year through local charitable organizations:  The Heart Walk; the Susan B. Komen 3-Day Walk; and many, many more.  Check your local paper for details.

Even a short walk increases energy, burns off stress hormones as well as calories, improves stamina, and can clear the mind – and it’s the perfect way to rediscover the beauty of nature.  You don’t have to walk as far as Wilfred Thesiger who walked across Africa so many times his knees wore out; or the famous Audubon who often walked 100 miles in two days!
In the words of the nature writer and artist Ann Swinger:
“Walking . . . Is anything from a 2-week trek in Alaska to trundling a wheelchair along a paved path.  It’s not the strenuousness that counts – it’s the eye contact with the natural world:  what you see; what sees you.”
If you are just getting started, be sure to get well-fitted, supportive walking shoes and wear comfortable layers this time of year.  Begin with a few minutes and work up gradually.  Before you know it, the perception of time will disappear!
In the words of the philosopher and writer Jean Jacques Rousseau:

“Never did I think so much, exist so much, be myself so much as in the journeys I have made alone and on foot.  Walking has something about it which animates and enlivens my idea.  I can hardly think while I am still; my body must be in motion to move my mind.”
Happy Spring!