Today I recognized that I have left a few things behind over the past few months–things that have been important in my process of reclaiming my emotional health after the series of debilitating events that occurred at the beginning of 2011. In trying to juggle and balance various areas of responsibility in my life, I somehow managed to let them drop off and I now need to pick back up. One of the more important things was that I stopped walking 3 to 4 times a week at Cesar Chavez Park in Berkeley. At best I walk about half of my usual 1.5 miles around the park only once per week with my dog Honor. While that part’s been good for Honor, it hasn’t done much for me.
“When you were walking regularly you also expressed more gratitude about what you saw as you walked around the park,” my therapist explained patiently to me this morning.
It’s true, not to mention the well-documented facts about how exercise contributes to an overall sense of wellbeing and significant reduction in the effects of depression and stress. Okay, okay, so I need to add regular walking at the park back into my list of important must-do’s. Even though I have a treadmill parked in the dining room of my condo, I haven’t set foot on it since I moved it there last May. Part of the benefit of walking at the Park is that it’s situated outdoors and trails along a very beautiful portion of the San Francisco Bay. The breeze off the water, as well as the views of the Golden Gate Bridge, Mount Tamalpais, the city of San Francisco, The Bay bridge and other vistas, the glimpses of pelicans, egrets, and great blue herons are all part of the experience for me, the part that lifts my spirits. No, it’s definitely not just about the exercise, though that provides benefits. It’s about reconnecting with the natural world that my spirit has missed.
I have been in some uncertainty lately about where I might be living in the months ahead. I am keeping my eyes, ears, and heart open to see where I might be led. Recent doors have opened that might allow me to remain out here in the Bay area at least for a few more months. I do know that I need to continue finding ways to connect with nature and living things on a regular basis. Although I live in a relatively urban environment, there are places in the surrounding area where I can find that kind of connection. I simply have to make the effort and take the time to find them and spend time outdoors.
I am grateful to have spent some time this afternoon with my daughter walking and exploring a local park. It was our first time there, and though it didn’t have the qualities I most enjoy, being out in the beautiful weather enjoying the sun, the companionable presence of my daughter, and the relative quiet of the place was relaxing and restorative. Tomorrow (Sunday) is my day to take Honor to Chavez Park for our weekly trek. It’s good for her to go out and I can let her off the leash to frolic with other canines in the “leash-free zone.” It’ll be a good way to start the new week.
So I have to reclaim some things this week. I don’t even know what all of them are, but if I’ve been neglecting them, I’ll start missing them soon enough. Tonight, as I listen to a lone bird singing a beautiful evensong just outside my window, and the turkeys gobble and call to one another as they prepare to roost for the night, I realize that I am blessed and my heart is filled with gratitude. This is a good way to end another week.
