the saying goes that a rolling stone gathers no moss, I am sure there is truth in that. I also know that a rolling snowball attracts more snow as it moves. I, on the other hand, had not moved at all for years and yet now I am on track things are moving all around me.
As I began my journey to fitness early this year I had no clue where the road would take me. At best I thought I might lose a bit of weight, feel a bit healthier and perhaps get more mobility. All that happened and more. I am now, some six months on, fitter, lighter and happier. All is well.
So, here I am, still in my kitchen, sitting at the table writing my blog. I have just come in from a two and a half mile walk, mostly in the rain, and I am realising that one of the most positive things I get from walking is thinking time.
In my busy life there is always something that needs my attention. I go from place to place, from space to space getting on with stuff, a hundred different things to remember, a dozen jobs needing doing. In the background there is noise, the radio, tv, people chatting, my ears are full of sounds that assault my thoughts.
This morning walking in the cold, damp Peak District air, I saw almost no one else. A couple of dog walkers on the other side of the street and me, walking in the world, alone with my thoughts. It is mighty powerful stuff.
Today my thoughts are on my plans to help and encourage others to walk well, as I have done. On how I can reach out and motivate those who believe that they cannot exercise at all. I am mostly thinking of how my life used to be. The days I couldn’t walk for pain in all my joints, when I sat on the sofa with chocolate, kidding myself I was happy with me.
Well, I am happier now for sure. It would appear that I am not a rock gathering no moss as I move, I am much more the snowball, attracting like minded people as I roll on down life’s hills and dales. Things are coming together, but I am under no illusions. I am still me, I still worry about stuff, still get cross about injustice and unfairness in the world and I need time to think about all of this.
Walking gives me this time. To just be. Putting one foot in front of another towards the rest of my life.