How do you walk?
Have you ever thought about it? Do you pay attention to how you walk? What do you do with your arms? Are your strides long and fluid? Or shorter and fast? Where do you look? How do you walk?
And why would you even want to know that?
Walking is automatic right? We just do it. Who cares HOW we do it, as long as it gets done. Right?
Right?!
Hmmmm. I’m not so sure.
Just recently, I noticed something interesting about the way I walk. I was hiking a beautiful trail with my family. At least, I think it was beautiful. I didn’t really know for sure at the moment.
Then, somewhere along the hike, I had a thought.
It popped up out of nowhere.
My mind was blissfully blank. I was just walking and being and not paying much attention to anything, really.
And then this thought.
Am I enjoying myself?
My first reaction was, Sure, I’m hiking with my family. This is my favorite. I always enjoy myself.
But this thought was persistent. Like – NO! Really! Are you really!?
And then I suddenly noticed something.
I was walking with my head down, starting at the dirt on the path, watching each step I took.
I was looking at dirt.
Dirt is not super enjoyable.
So, since I realized what I was doing, looking at dirt, I lifted my head and looked around me.
It was GORGEOUS. The forest lined with tall, tall trees that seemed to graze the sky. Sunshine glinted through the leaves, making some of them look translucent. Shadows danced in the breeze like flighty little fairies. The smell of pine lingered in the air, bringing such a feeling of peace.
And I was staring at the dirt.
Now, here’s what’s interesting. For the rest of the hike, it was HARD for me to keep my head up. I must have been walking with my head down for, like fifteen years, because my head kept trying to drop, like it was magnetized to the ground. It took a super concerted to keep looking up.
Interesting huh?
How often, in life, do we concentrate on the dirt, when there is magic in the air around us?
Do we stare at our dirt? Other people’s dirt? The dirt in the world in general?
Why would we do that?!
Dirt is super boring!
What would happen if we stopped looking at the dirt and started seeing the beauty around us?
Oh friends, I think we would all feel SO much better.
For sursies, we would enjoy ourselves, and our lives and each other so much more.
So, let’s look up and see what we can see.
You with me?
