I like having different seasons of my life, I’m not doing the same thing for years on end. There have been times that I have been working and socializing a lot, others I was more focused on my kids, or juggling part-time work and raising kids, then working full-time and going to school – pretty much always busy and focused on supporting others. Now I’m taking time to slow down and do things differently so I have more time to go on adventures and help others in a different way – to spend time with my mom, to look after my sisters dogs, to housesit for family and friends, to happily not have a set routine. I wonder what the next season will be like.
Here’s some of the things I’ve been able to do the last few days during this season I’m in:
I see how impatient I get when I’m driving and someone is going slow or not doing what I think they should do and it’s slowing me down. Yet when I’m walking, I rarely feel upset, maybe because it’s just me and I can go at my own pace. Maybe it’s because I’m going at a slower pace and I’m outside. I feel more relaxed and can deal with anything that happens. When I’m in my car it’s unnatural, so I am feeling off. If I spend more time walking places, I get less done, am less efficient, but I am often happier. Using my feet for transportation makes me think about what’s important enough to spend my time walking to. If it doesn’t feel like it’s worth a half hour or hour or two hour walk I won’t do it. And that can mean giving up some things that could be really fun and cool to do. I may not have as much choice in my life, it can affect what I eat, what I wear, who I see. It makes me more mindful about the choices I make about how I’m spending my time. When I’m walking I tend to be very reflective, it’s best if I’m in a quiet space and even better if I’m walking in some sort of natural area. But even if I’m walking on a busy street, as long as there isn’t lots of traffic or tons of people, if I can move at my pace, I can still be reflective.
Here’s some of the things I’ve seen on my walks the last few days:
