Episode 530 – Magic walks

• Welcome back QFY friends
• How are you doing?
• These days of January can be gloomy, especially when it rains
• At least that’s how I feel
• My motivation always drops and I look at the world through a much darker lens
• I started walking regularly
• I don’t do a lot of cardio anymore so walking is my way to get in some
• Plus I like tracking things and I check my daily step count all the time
• Recently I noticed that it had been going up month over month since this summer where most of my walking came from long approaches to mountains I climbed
• And now I feel I need to keep beating my monthly steps which leads to more and more time spent walking on a daily basis because I am not much in the mountains in the winter
• So I added walking after my workouts
• My gym has a walking track upstairs where I would try to get to at least 8K steps,
• But this kept me in the gym increasingly later,
• so now I started adding walks during the time I am at work, usually in the afternoon
• A couple of years ago I would do this, but then I somehow believed I didn’t have the time
• I use the quiet time when everyone is at lunch to catch up on things
• But that doesn’t mean I cannot fit in a quick walk later in the day
• Now, I am making the time
• I force myself to get out
• Yesterday I ran an errand and walked to the place I needed to go to
• Today it was gloomy and chilly and I felt tired still from my ice climbing weekend but I still went out
• In 2019 I probably walked more than I have ever walked in one year
  • Thanks to my revived passion for the outdoors
• I walked a lot and when I bring 2019 back to my memory, I see myself walking
  • Walking along the pacific coast with a speech in my hand, rehearsing
  • Walking in the dark, the wee hours of early summer mornings with a headlamp on my head and a big pack on my back
  • Walking slowly steadily uphill
  • Sweating, breathing heavily
  • I have walked through cities
  • My own, and others I have visited
  • I have walked alone, with my climbing partners, with dogs
  • In silence, while with others
  • In silence alone
  • Or sometimes engaged in the most interesting conversations
• I have walked a lot and every time following a walk, I notice something:
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• there is magic in walking
• Going out helps me in all the ways that initially hold me back from going out
  • I feel just a bit more energized after my walk, even if I was tired to begin with
  • I can see clearer with eyes as well which probably comes from the adjustment my eyes had to make when outside
  • My mind is less cluttered, and I have some direction on next steps forward
  • And my entire mood shifts and feels lighter, more at ease
• Its as if the fresh air and cool breeze goes through my body and revitalizes me
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• A walk brings me answers to questions I didn’t know I had
  • When I cannot find time to workout, a walk is what makes me feel I still did something
  • When I was stuck inside all day and feel antsy, restless, stuffy and out of ideas, a walk restores me back to equilibrium
  • Tension, worry, indecision – whatever may plaque me prior to my walk – it suddenly seems to dissolve as soon as begin taking the first steps
  • And the more I walk, breathe in the fresh air, the better I begin to feel
  • The often needless tension and worries go away, all forgotten
  • The indecision turns into resoluteness
  • The restlessness into peace and calm

• A walk is both – an ending to something and a beginning for something new
  • The indecisiveness about should I go or should I not is resolved within the first few steps
  • I take a deep breath and I immediately know that this was the right decision
  • A walk ends the before
    • The restlessness
    • The debate with myself
    • The guilt for not having done anything physical all day
    • The doubts about whether or not I have the time for a walk
  • The walk
    • The act of me going out and walking ends it all
    • And it allows me to start over
    • I look at everything with a fresh set of eyes
    • Feeling the blood flow through my body
    • Feeling alive again

• Walks are magic because they bring us face to face with silence
  • And maybe that’s why we find it so hard to get going
• We tend to be afraid to be alone with ourselves
• The silence, while relaxing is at the same time scary
• On my city walks, I drown it with podcasts streaming through my ears
  • Although I am also trying to keep the street noise out
• In the mountains, given no other choice, because who would dare to put on headphones in nature?
  • I listen and I think
• And only then
• When I am face to face, ear to ear with the silence
• that’s when the magic is allowed to unfold
• Suddenly I become conscious
• I wake up
• And I notice the thoughts that are running through my head
• Never in my other daily life to I see, hear and feel them so closely
• Only on those magic walks
• Without speaking
• Without listening to something else
• Without reading anything
  • Just me
  • My steps forward
• That’s when see myself clearer
• Because I notice what is going through my mind
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“Within you, there is a stillness and a sanctuary to which you can retreat at anytime and be yourself.”
— Hermann Hesse

• A walk allows me to access this sanctuary
• Because lets be honest:
• We don’t sit in stillness at home just reflecting on our thoughts
• But a walk gives us the opportunity to so
• Lets not waste this chance to retreat into ourselves
• Lets find more ways to walk
  • While waiting for someone or something
  • When we need to make a call or expect a call,
    • And when its over enjoy the stillness
  • When we feel like doing the opposite – sleeping, slouching, relaxing
    • Because doing so will feel much better after the walk
  • Lets walk when we are searching
    • When we need help
    • When we are confused
    • When we are irritated
    • Because walking will resolve all of it by giving us clarity, visibility, confidence
  • I encourage you to discover the magic in walking by going on a walk
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  • Do you love sunsets?
    • Pick a hill near your house and an evening where its not too cloudy and go walk up there to watch the sunset
  • Do you lack time for exercise?
    • Get up 15min earlier and go for a brisk walk around the block
    • Soon you will want to increase that time – trust me
    • But in the meantime, make it short until you want to make it longer because it feels so good
  • Do you struggle finding quiet time?
    • Drive to a nearby forest or a lake and go for a walk
    • You’ll find it there
  • However big or small the question is you are carrying
    • Start with a walk
    • And then see where it takes you
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Much love