22nd May 2020
Good evening to one and all. Above are a selection of photos i chose all taken with my iPhone on various walks with my pooch. Although still in isolating going out for a walk is still allowed and so its nice to get out from my four walls and into the fresh air for an hour daily and what beautiful weather we have been having, perfect for walking.
I love walking with my partner, we seem to chat constantly about all sorts of things, however Solo walking can be even more wonderful, having a bit of me time, no emails, no phone calls , just time for me to think and reflect on various things in my life, use the time to practice the LOA and it is also a brilliant way to meditate.
I always thought meditating had to be done sat on the floor, legs crossed and in silence, which I always found difficult especially stopping my mind from wondering off onto random things like “what shall I have for dinner tonight?”.. but a friend in recovery once told me, meditation can be done however you find it easiest, and most enjoyable. Meditation is supposed to be relaxing and leave you feeling invigorated not stressed because you've spent the last 10 minutes fighting to keep your mind on nothing, or using the time to think of all the things you need to get done, of which there are so many that you start to wonder why your wasting 15 minutes that you could be using getting all those chores done!
Meditation should be done however works best for you. Try and think of the kind of person you are, lying down on a bed, phone off and keeping in the moment will work for bundles of people however everyone is different and in a short period of time, will find their own way of meditating that is best for them.
Once you have found your way you will find meditating and practicing mindfulness to be relaxing, calming and good for your mental health, in no way should it be stressful, which if I’m honest, when i was in rehab for the first time and was introduced to meditation, we were all made to do this as a group for 10 minutes every morning before we started our daily group sessions, i found trying to sit still for those 10 minutes, whilst sitting on the most uncomfortable chair that had ever been invented and fighting with my mind to stay centred, basically made me more irritated and restless than before I started, i hated it, i hated that i was made to do it and that i wasnt doing it by choice, i hated doing it with 20 other people, mainly because i couldn't resist opening my eyes to see if anyone else had their eyes open too! and lastly, i could never keep my mind clear and i just fidgeted my way through what felt like an hour. So my conclusion was that meditation was definatly not for me.
That was until one day me and my friend who is a beauty therapist and in in recovery herself somehow got on the subject of meditation after she had finished laughing at my description of it and how much it "didnt" do for me, she surprised me by saying that she had been practicing meditation for years and that with time it gets easier and has many benefits for a persons mental health, however she said that she did her meditation her way, a way that she had come to find worked perfectly for her. I had to know her secret?
She explained to me there was no magical secret and that basically her way is;
Walking solo with her dog, being at one with nature, practising mindfulness, being in the moment, breathing in fresh air, being peaceful and keeping the mind quiet, trying her best not to think of anything outside of the walk, giving her mind, as she put it, an hours break from the world and should any negative or unwanted thoughts creep in, dont panic, just acknowledge the thought and imagining tying the thought to a red balloon and letting it go..up, up it goes and with that the thoughts float away along with the balloon..
After your walk, maybe thank the universe for being able to have had such a peaceful walk, to be able to be around nature and have calm and love in your life. Show gratitude for the simple things becuase although they are simple to us, there are thousands of people who do not have these simple luxuries' such as the disabled, or people from war torn countries, they can't exactly just chuck on their trainers and go for a walk in beautiful surroundings. So be grateful for the day ahead and try to be positive and attempt to keep that calmness with you throughout the day no matter what the day brings.
