“Walking is good for you.” All my life I have heard that ad nauseum. Repetition, however, has not deterred me from periodically slipping away from the habit. The worst part about walking is getting started again after a lapse.
If I miss a day or, worse yet, two or three days, the guilt begins to pile up, making it even more difficult to get back on track. When I finally do, the payoff is relief from guilt and an intense rush of virtue that somehow brings everything back into balance. Walking is great exercise, but for me the emotional benefits, in terms of self-regard, outweigh the physical benefits.
Time of day for walking is important; mine is the morning. Aside from waking and taking my medications, walking is the next highest priority of my daily “To Do.” The only way I can insure that it happens is to walk before anything else intrudes. All else waits.
If Michael joins me, as he often does, the walk time is spent in amiable companionship: comfortable silences interspersed with long and short term plans, items for the grocery list, menus, the calendar, and current events. It is a challenge after all these years to come up with entertaining topics to keep the conversation going.
We walk 1.4 miles total, usually in about 30 minutes. If the weather is inclement, we hop into the car and head for the YMCA treadmill machines. The environment there isn’t as scenic as our local walk but it keeps guilt at bay with an unbroken string of walking days.
Remember: “Walking is good for you!”
Copyright 2008
www.lindalater.blogspot.com
Posted September 11, 2008
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