Since yesterday was such a gorgeous day, my boyfriend and I went for a REALLY long walk around our neighborhood! We had good conversation for most of it, but then it settled into more observational talk about things we saw that were interesting. We noticed that there are a lot of different churches and small rose gardens/parks closer to the side streets – this is interesting because back home where I grew up, it seemed like there were only a few and they weren’t that close to one another. Churches were popping up everywhere on our walk!

The rose gardens hadn’t started budding yet, of course, so looked pretty bare – but it was exciting to visualize all the roses and paint the garden in my mind with all the possible colors. With the sun shining, many people were out and about with their dogs and families, which made the area seem more lively. Even in the snow, people were trekking around with their dogs, so I think people just like to walk where we live 🙂  I was very energized by the sun and the ability to stroll around for almost 2 hours with my boyfriend.

Today, the weather is back to the good ole rain. It can be refreshing, but once the Spring sun starts to creep out, rain turns into more of a disappointment. I love walking in the rain (if it isn’t downpouring), so I went for a walk to do some nearby errands. The clouds were being a bit more sporadic with the amount of rain they were letting out, so my pace wasn’t able to stay in the meandering category. I felt myself even starting to speed walk at some points. My regular pace is faster than most people’s but I only like to actually speed walk if I am running late somewhere (like when I used to go to class).

Comparing the two walks from yesterday and today stood out to me for this post because a simple weather change altered my pace, which made observing my surroundings stop to almost a halt. There have been many SOL posts that focused on paying attention to detail, so that was in the front of my mind as well.

People are constantly on the move and thinking about what comes next on their to-do list. It is important to be able to slow down or you will be in a constant state of stress. Taking slow walks, doing yoga/pilates, simply taking deep breaths throughout the day, or allowing yourself to relax with a book can immensely help in this fast-moving society. I am glad that with my current substituting schedule, I have the evenings (and some afternoons) to settle down with a book and my cat and boyfriend 🙂

I want to end this post with an acrostic poem about the act of walking and losing yourself in the environment around you.

Wondering what will stand out

Aimlessly exploring

Loving the fresh air

Knowing there is no end

Instincts leading the way

Not listening to the burn in my legs

Gravitating towards smells and beauty

Also, the title comes from one of my favorite Christmas movies as a child (it’s British) – if you know what it is, comment below and we can bond about it!

PERSONAL, DAY 5 STARTED LATE!