Lately I have taken up the habit of walking a couple times a day while at work. They have a walking path around a couple of small ponds at the building. It is a great way to revitalize myself, get the blood moving again, and improve even my outlook when it is not quite as it should be. The walk normally takes about 20 minutes to do two laps around the ponds, but today I did something different. I walked the path slowly.
I read the book How to Think Like Leonardo da Vinci. One of the chapters talks about using all five of your senses to take in the world around you. It encouraged me stretch my senses by trying new and different things. Some of the ideas it gave were
- Spend time in an art museum, but spend it on a small selection of art. Take time to examine what you are looking at. Ask questions about it. What do you like or dislike about it? What emotions or lack of emotions does it give you? etc.
- Try new foods that you have not tried before.
- Take time to smell the air around you. Try to identify the various scents you smell
Well, that last one is what gave me the idea. So often I just walk and don't even know what's around me. I have been teaching in the Sowing and Reaping class at church about living life deliberately. I realized that my walks many times were just a reaction to wanting to "get away" for a bit from my desk. Though I was getting the benefit of fresh air and some light exercise, I was missing out on so much more.
Today I slowed down and concentrated on every sense except sight. I found you can't concentrate on more than one at a time, so I started with hearing. I took the time to hear what was going on around me. The sounds of the insects singing, of the birds, the water, even the sound of insects landing on dried plants. It was amazing what you miss when you are not paying attention. I moved through touch (letting my hand run through tall grasses, feeling the breeze on my finger tips, and the feeling of the ground under my feet) and smell (the smell of a cooking fire somewhere down wind).
As I finished my walk I realized how much more relaxed I felt by taking the time to slow down and live in the moment, taking in everything God had around me for me to enjoy. Next week I am going to bring my camera and capture some of the sights there are to see in this Tallgrass sanctuary of nature.