I love mindful walking, tuning into what I can hear, feel, see; especially if I am doing that at the beach or in the forest…. and yet I can talk myself out of it, all of the time! ‘I have better things to do, I don’t have time, is it worth it, really?’
Last Friday was looking busy – but I had an hour so I grabbed my sketch book, and went to my local beach and forced myself to walk slowly, to look closely at the shells and rocks washed up, to pick them up, hold them, and sketch them and really bring my mind back to the present moment. Each time my brain wandered (most likely to: – ‘but there are things I need to do, things I urgently need to think about, what good is this anyway?!!’) – I’d gently bring my mind back to What can I see? What can I hear? What can I feel? and the effect after 1 hour was so calming a poem came to mind (below)…to remind myself that mindful walking is just what I need when my brain is racing!
My challenge this week though is not just to do a mindful walk in nature but to also remember I can walk mindfully from one room to another, from inside to outside, from the car to work etc… Are you up for the challenge? Does mindful walking work for you?
If you would like to join our Mindful Monday Challenge online group you can join here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1045913615480695/
The mindful treasures I found…
Mindful Walk On Shelley Beach
belly loosens
time slows down
no destination
or objective,
just wander
& see what I
can hear…see…feel….
my mind protests
but there’s things to do
‘settle petal’
‘this is my time now’
to slow my thinking
to be in the present moment
to be…
and it comes back to me
how often I used to do this
how healing wandering is
feeling the sand
between my toes,
the cold water,
finding shells,
why have I left it so long
to come back to myself?
to come back to nature?
NOT hurrying,
NOT exercising,
NOT thinking ahead in my brain,
JUST being….
Just being me
And I promise myself to do this
at least once a week,
a gift to my soul.
by Sara 🙂
Deep Heart Wisdom 