Small Town Hermit

Like many people, I could do with more exercise, and I struggle to work it into my life on a consistent basis.

A friend of mine suggested recently that I should just take a walk around the block first thing in the morning. I could always do more later, but I would be starting the day with some fresh air in my lungs. Sounds easy enough, right?

While I enjoy early mornings, I am not much of a morning person. I don’t wake up and pop right out of bed, ready to face the day. If I wake up to lovely music on the radio and feeling snuggly and comfortable in bed, I am not keen to change the situation, and if I do get myself upright in short order, it takes a while before I feel like getting dressed and really starting the day.

It took three days between advice and action, and the first action did not bode well. The temperature was not too hot, but it was quite humid. Exhaust plus humidity equals dank air which is not particularly pleasant to breathe. I did make it through a short loop through the neighborhood, and I have managed to do the same thing every day since. Today marks eight days in a row.

The key is to not think about it too much. I get up, put on appropriate clothing, have a drink of water if I think about it, pick up a house key, and walk out the door. I don’t take music or my phone. I don’t wear any sort of device which tracks where I am going or how many steps I take or how far I go or what my heart rate is or how many calories I am burning or compares one day to another. I don’t know how far or how fast. Sometimes more and sometimes less, varying the route according to the morning’s whim. I just walk.

While I am not sure how much it is helping overall (it has only been eight days), it has not been difficult. As the song says, I just put one foot in front of the other.

I was worried that it would be difficult to motivate myself without music or that the brain weasels would detract from the salubrious effects of these morning perambulations. If I feel as if anxious thoughts are taking over, I can sing a song in my head — make my own music. I pay attention to where I am going and what is around me.

Yesterday I took a second walk with my phone so that I could take some pictures. I would like to take more pictures, especially of some of the houses I pass, but carrying a camera gets in the way of the simplicity of the endeavor, and folks might not care for their homes being photographed by a random person strolling through the neighborhood, so I am going to wait and see on that idea.

Maybe I will give it some thought on tomorrow’s walk.