In another post I mentioned that I now have a dog – a standard poodle to be precise. As a result I am now doing twice daily walks of at least 30 minutes each. One of the pleasures of this is I vary the walks as much as possible – for her and my own benefit.
Variety is the spice of life afterall… so today we had a walk in a pea field. Yes! That’s right!
There aren’t any cleavers in there so the dog doesn’t get so many burrs on her coat – but I had forgotten that the peas have a slightly tacky / sticky covering – do she had glued up fur instead! (You live and learn…)
(All that aside, one of the reasons for this post is to explain another huge advantage of having a dog in particular, or taking daily exercise out in the open air. In reference to the peas – I have called this exercising your inner peas – a pun on peace, if you didn’t get it!)
Fresh air, being out in nature and watching the dawn and early birds and animals go about their business is a fabulous opportunity to:
A) get some much needed exercise
B) meditate and compose yourself and your mind for the day ahead (or contemplate the day if you walk at the end of the day)
C) stimulate your circulation and excretory and digestive systems which keep your engine healthy!
The added advantage of having a dog along with you – is you HAVE to do whatever the weather! No excuse… plus you really get to experience life as it actually is. The walk and weather gets you PRESENT to life!
Another benefit, which is more metaphysical – is that by walking – you are literally and energetically “walking into a new future / possibility / reality”.
This is a very powerful action, much more effective and useful than many people think.
Consider: every footfall you take – you are changing your physical position – and creating a new action and reality! YOU are creating a new presence!
One of the challenges that less able-bodied people have, especially as they age, is that they SIT for prolonged periods of time.
As a result – Nothing changes! There is no act of movement or creation – in the moment or the future! Without this life stultifies! It gets boring, empty, meaningless.. this translates in your body and mind as dying – which becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy.
(Yes, I know we all die eventually; but hear me out please!) By BEING active you create an active future both physically and mentally and emotionally.
The best bit is – YOU can do this for yourself (even if you are movement restricted!).
Not everyone can have a dog to encourage them to get out and about – but regular daily exercise is a MUST for a healthy, fulfilled life!
Bonus benefit – if you are walking in a pea field – you can also sample some of the developing sweet-tasting peas – which are truly delicious!
© Chichester Self Catering 2017
Note: This post was originally created for Great Guidelines for Later Life.com – a business to help seniors and their families create order, direction and peace of mind now and in the future as they get older. To find out more how this amazing series of programmes could help you and YOUR family – please go to: www.greatguidelinesforlaterlife.com
