A Walk in the Valley

Today I went for a walk, did you ever think you get obtain true peace of mind from a walk? No? Well don’t worry then, because you can’t. But what you can do is shut your brain up for a little bit. The past few months have been a little rough on my old brain, so much thinking; about life choices, my actions and reactions towards people, expectations, lack of expectations, rethinking communication and the validity of communication or the outcomes of too much communication/not enough. I get tired just listing a few of the things I’ve been thinking about. And today I was exhausted; it was all I could to just to make coffee, which doesn’t really count anyway since I drink decaf. But it was beautiful outside, the wind was pushing the early morning clouds away, the birds were signing, my dog was happy frolicking around in the high grass, so I thought, “what the heck a walk sounds nice.” And if you going to walk out in nature you might as well do a walking meditation or at least walk mindfully. For my walk I chose mindfulness, I wasn’t going to ‘think’ at all, I was just going to open my senses and see what the world had to offer. So here are some things I saw along my walk.

The Path:

Just to the right of the post you can sort of make out the path snaking through the valley, the 2 large trees on the top of the hill is where I was headed.

Fence Post:

But before I start off a little nature already. Mr. Wasp.

I can only imagine he was seeking some refuge from the wind, he let me get pretty close and didn’t fly off. Poor guy was as exhausted as I was.

Deer Track:

I wasn't the only one that thought a walk sounded good.

The back of my eyelids:

 No not really, I think this actually the inside of my pocket but about half was to the trees I stopped for about a minute and closed my eyes and listened to all the different birds. If I knew anything about birds I’d list the ones I saw, but I don’t so you get this.

Tree:

It’s a really beautiful tree, the kind of tree every kids wants a tire swing dangling off of and a fort built in the branches.

Red Winged Black Bird:

Can you see him? No? Let’s zoom in.

Pardon the pixilation; I don’t have a good digital camera. But dead center there’s a little black curve, that’s him and boy does he sing pretty!

Tiny Flower:

On the way back I took the low road through the valley and saw this little guy.

I think it’s a bird’s foot violet. But I could be wrong.

Egg:

Right in the middle of the path there was a bird’s egg.

Knocked out of the nest by the wind maybe. But I stared at it for a while. It was so perfect and white and smooth and it was a little life that didn’t make it. I tried not to let this sad beauty get my mind churning again so I kept walking. My dog and I got back to our little cabin and had a nice cool drink of water and sat for a few more minutes enjoying the outside before regular life drew us back inside.

I highly recommend mindful walking.