Bestest Friend and I are doing a blog project. Each day we will write a blog post on pre-determined theme chosen by a random noun generator. The theme for the twenty-sixth day of the month is "Moment."
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Yesterday was stressful for me, but I knew that what would help would be if I took Hannah out on a long walk at lunchtime. I took her to the park near our house, but as usual, there was no one else there, so I let her off leash and she meandered around, smelling everything and rolling around in what I can only imagine is the excrement of larger animals.
They say that nature is good for the soul. It sure did me good.
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Do you have a nature spot where you go after a hard day?
I would imagine that being at the park with Hannah is extra good for your soul. It makes me think of going to the park with my kids when they were little. Everything was so exciting- a rock! a hole! flowers! It's fun to be out in nature with creatures who appreciate every little thing.
ReplyDeleteOh, this is a GREAT analogy. I would NEVER notice so many things that Hannah notices. I mean, she is essentially a forever toddler. :)
DeleteI don't; I love walking and nature but if I'm in a really bad state mentally, my happy place - this is going to sound SO lame - is puttering around my house. Tidying, cleaning a counter. I know, I know, this isn't the "right" answer according to all the self-help literature, but a walk doesn't really calm me down (maybe because my mind keeps going at 1000 miles/minute), but when I can do something with my hands that is mostly mindless but just complicated enough to distract me, I get into a meditative-like state.
ReplyDeleteYes, I can see this. There's something about running the vacuum or dusting the baseboards while listening to an audiobook or a podcast that can also be very meditative for me. (My 20-year-old self is RIGHT NOW puzzling over "dusting baseboards"!) It's just that with a dog, the outside stuff has to happen, so I try to use that time to also work on calming and de-stressing.
DeleteI'm sorry you were stressed out. It's the absolute worst.
ReplyDeleteI take my walk, and I add an extra couple blocks to include one that has a teeny grove of massive hickory trees. They're so tall, straight, and huge that they automatically calm me. The minute I walk into them, I feel calmer and quieter. Trees are extremely calming to me.
Oh, that sounds lovely! It's so quiet when you're in a grove of trees. Thank you for sharing that image with us.
DeleteFor my entire working life, I've always taken a walk at lunch. I feel like it's a 10% physical and 90% mental recharge. Once the pandemic came, lunch walks became 1000x better because now they were dog walks. I always let her chose the route, and I love it when she goes to our neighborhood park.
ReplyDeleteYES! The lunch walks during the pandemic were so great because Hannah didn't know there was a pandemic. I LOVED that time. Also, I'm so glad you also let your dog choose the route. I generally do, as well, and my husband thinks Hannah is terrible on a leash because she won't go where he wants her to, but that's because I rarely force her to go someplace! It's her walk, not mine!
DeleteWalks are good and probably extra good with a dog.
ReplyDeleteThey are so much better with a dog!
DeleteYes, it's nice to get out for a walk and into nature... our go-to is usually the local park and rosegarden.
ReplyDeleteYay for using local resources! I don't know what I'd do without our local parks.
DeleteOur backyard exploring with the puppies... What you wrote made me think of this Mary Oliver gem: "A dog can never tell you what she knows from the smells of the world, but you know, watching her, that you know almost nothing."
ReplyDeleteMary Oliver knows what's up. There's an intersection in our town and Hannah always recoils when we get there. I don't see or hear anything there, but whatever it is, Hannah does not like it. I usually avoid the intersection because I don't want to unnecessarily stress her out, but we went by the other day and she still jumped and recoiled. I realllly want to know what it is, but I'm never going to. Hannah knows more than I ever could!
DeleteMy go to place to clear my head is going for a run around Lake Harriet!
ReplyDeleteAmen, sister! I'd be there with you if I could!
DeleteShe looks so darn happy! My favorite nature spot is either on our boat in the Gulf, or in my own back yard.
ReplyDeleteShe tolerates walks. LOL. Hannah will never be an athlete, I'm learning.
DeleteI'm with Elisabeth. Give me something mindless to scrub - a toilet? a floor? a fridge? - and a non-work-related podcast (also not one related to "personal growth", thanks) and I'm good. ;) A walk works, too, but for me it's just a walk. There's really no "nature" involved, thanks to location. :)
ReplyDeleteWhen I lived in a city, I would always seek out the pocket parks for a bit of nature. I'm a girl who requires seeing a tree every day, I guess!
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