A Walking Meditation

I have always used my daily work breaks to take walks. At first, it was because I wanted extra exercise; however, I’ve found that it also relieves stress, clears my head, wakes up my brain, and gives me 15 minutes to myself each morning. In  The Artist's Way, Julia Cameron suggests that these types of daily walks as a meditation. It feels true; when I walk, I find a special kind of inspiration and clarity.

Last week, I reread The Tao of Pooh (for about the 100th time). I have been feeling stressed and a little lost, and reading the book always grounds me in goodness. In an effort to be more Pooh-worthy, I’ve been inspired to slow down and appreciate things more.

So, while walking earlier this week, I tried to slow down my thoughts and look around. I started during my morning walks, and first thing, I really saw was all of the beautiful, old oaks trees surrounding work. Their trunks are interesting knots of branches that are topped by oblong, airy groupings of leaves. It helped me to stop and respect the moment, so I painted a few of my favorites to remember. I might have improvised on the color a bit.