Walking Meditation

I like to walk.

When I was elementary aged I hated to walk. Because, I lived about one mile from school and Kansas Winters can be harsh - and I was walking in them. My siblings and I walked in insanely cold weather (the kind that freezes your snot within one breath) and we walked in the rain and mud, we walked screaming at each other or playing, we walked past the old man's house with the clock on it telling us (consistently) that we were going to be late to school if we didn't run. Sometimes dogs were chasing us. Sometimes creepy folks would talk to us. Often, weighted down with a backpack full of school books and notebooks, a saxophone, a binder, and a violin (until, the morning I kicked the violin down the sidewalk and destroyed it). But, we walked.

When I was twenty-two I had an experience that changed my overall perspective on walking. I had been in a series of incidents as a young adult where some things happened that were, in many ways, out of my control. And I was broke (a cycle that would repeat years later). I found a weekend job that I could work (in addition to school and another job I had) but, it meant walking across town early in the morning before the buses were running to get there for my shift. At first, I hated it. It was something else to overcome. Something else that was hard. Something else that I had to do that no one else I knew was having to do to get by.

Then, something changed. I began to enjoy it. The morning air, the quiet, the challenge of arriving just a few minutes sooner every week. And I was doing it. I had complete control. My feet were mine and the challenges were mine and that time was mine. I began to notice more around me. The smells in the air, the sounds, the way that a day presents itself each and every morning as something new.

Today, I walked my children to school. It is most common for us to bicycle - but, today we walked. And I felt the most refreshed I had been in a long while as I left them for the day. As I made my way home I had many moments to rattle around inside my own head. But, I arrived home exhausted.

During my walk I entered into such a deep meditation that I uprooted much stress and emotions that haven't had time to wick their way to the surface while pedaling my bicycle and carrying on the business of my life. But, I know that is okay. . I may be tired today - but, let's examine the depth of such an activity. If you enter into a workout and focus on a muscle group it tends to be sore following the initial session but, subsequent exercise will leave you less in pain and instead energize you. When you manage, through whatever means necessary, to reach your emotional core and shake it clean - it can be painful. But, over time, you are less in pain and healthier for doing that work. I am so glad for my feet. I am so thankful for my legs. I give praise to my heart. I am at peace knowing that I can control my stress. I just have to walk.

May you be blessed with mediation that works for you.