Walking

Jogging never was one of my favorite pastimes. But walking is. I can meander for miles with the baby on my back, staring and buildings and nature, letting thoughts come and go, sorting through the chaos in my heart. Walking doesn't hurt and it makes me feel refreshed, relaxed and energized.

Perhaps the greatest benefit of walking is that it gives me an opportunity to be alone. I need these quiet moments as much for myself as for those I care for.

... solitude is possible — I'd dare say necessary — to anyone who wants to live creatively and peacefully. (Boundless)

I may fit into the single category, but somehow I still find it beneficial to get away from most things for a while. Tonight I took roughly a 10 km round trip with a brief stop at a Tim Hortons half-way through - a little over two hours in total.

The reason that I first bought hiking boots was not to go hiking. Rather they were just an easily-available type of insulated footwear. I was looking for something to enable me to go for reasonably long walks when it's -20 degrees Celcius (or colder) without having to worry about my feet getting numb.

The last few weeks have been quite busy, and, with the combination of weather and sickness, I didn't really get to do much of this. I think that the lack of this particular kind of downtime was contributing to my stress levels lately.