I walk a lot of parks these days.
As a 58 year old woman getting her daily 7,500 steps in, it doesn’t seem very passionate or thrilling. I hardly hear the music of Chariots of Fire pumping me to the highest levels of joy as I once did while jogging when I was much younger.
Sometimes I catch myself spending a lot of time looking at the step number creep up on my phone as I walk. I feel passionate about that number hitting 7,000 because that means I am almost done! I forget to behold the scenery around me, and notice how pleasant fresh outdoor air is, feel the breeze on my face, notice the birds, the rustling leaves and the distinct acoustics of gravel on the path beneath my feet.
I catch myself doing the modern day blunder of burying myself in an electronic device instead of living in the moment. I had awakened myself from just such a moment when I snapped the above photo. Why had I come to the ball field? I normally walk the perimeter of the park and stay in the natural areas.
Then I got a funny feeling. My consciousness extracted from my step number counts and I began to ponder where I was. My softball team, when I was middle school age, had used this field both for practice and for games. (It was through the city leagues rather than through the school.) I had stood over a plate similar to this in this very spot many times with a bat. My father was the coach, and my mother was the manager. That moment brought a convergence of adult Heather minding her health and her steps, and young teenage Heather tending to a distant fading memory.
How interesting it was that my feet walked me over here to this spot as my mind remained preoccupied with my adult life oblivious to the memory. I felt gratitude, and connection with what was and what is now. I felt gratitude for my parents and their willingness to jump in to a role like that all those years ago and give me and a few other young girls some good memories.
I also felt gratitude for my imperfect but good life now, and for my commitment to my life and health. That commitment led to these frequent nature hikes. I felt grateful for moments of convergence like this one where portals from different times show up with deep emotional impact and psychological integration.
Each day, my walk is to get 7,500 steps, but also each day, it is about so much more.