How Walking Inspires Me (even in times when I don’t walk!)
With inspirational quotes, poems and videos to keep the stress away
“Walk on a rainbow trail; walk on a trail of song, and all about you will be beauty. There is a way out of every dark mist, over a rainbow trail.” — Robert Motherwell
I love walking. Just a short walk where I could be closer to nature to smell the fresh air and gaze at the trees and the blooming flowers relieves my tired mind and frees me from stress.
Aside from being a good exercise, walking is good for the exhausted mind. It gives us something to do and always a place to look forward to.
We also discover new things from walking, not to mention meeting new people along the way. It’s a sort of adventure that calms and refreshes your soul.
If you are a writer like me, you would appreciate how walking often helps you come up with new and exciting ideas to work on later on.
Here are just some of the poems I wrote about walking:
A Walk in the Rain
A walk in the rain
my feet in the mud
a patter of raindrops
as I look up above..
Streets are flooded
I wade my way through
like a child lost in wonder
like a child lost in awe…
And if I can dance without tripping
if I can just sing once more
I’ll thank the rain now washing my face
and I shall walk on and on and on…
For the People Who Find It Hard To Walk Away
For the people
who find it hard to walk away,
away from the pain, the anger and the tears
away from those habits
that trapped you all those years,
May today be the day
that you begin to say,
there is another way.
For the people
who find it hard to walk away,
away from the people
that take away your peace,
that make you think
your worries would never cease,
may this hour be the hour,
when you decide not to drown,
from all the things that let you down.
For the people
who find it hard to walk away,
May this be the time
to set yourself free,
Free to laugh, to mend, to heal,
free to find a love that’s real.
For God is there
to catch you when you fall
and through it all
even when you think
you’d drown,
He will always be around.
You can surrender all
for He will never
let you down.
And here are some related inspirational quotes I’ve found:
“Beauty surrounds us, but usually we need to be walking in a garden to know it.” — Rumi
“A morning walk gives the body a chance to forgive the trials and tribulations of yesterday, to shed its rubbish and mental clutter. ” — Terri Guillemets
“It is quite possible to leave your home for a walk in the early morning air and return a different person — beguiled, enchanted.” — Mary Ellen Chase
“An early morning walk is a blessing for the whole day.”— Henry David Thoreau
“Above all, do not lose your desire to walk: every day I walk myself into a state of well being and walk away from every illness. I have walked myself into my best thoughts, and I know of no thought so burdensome that one cannot walk away from it.”― Søren Kierkegaard
“To be refreshed by a morning walk or an evening saunter… these are some of the rewards of the simple life.” — John Burroughs
“Inner peace is a quiet evening moonlight walk in the soft falling snow of our minds.” — Wes Adamson
“I love walking in the woods, along the trails, by the beaches. I love being part of nature. I love walking alone. It is therapy. One needs to be alone, to recharge one’s batteries.” — Grace Kelly
“When we walk into a grove of trees or under an open sky the magic of nature takes over and the heaviness of life lifts a little.” — Natassia Cassinero
“I slow down when hiking. The rhythm of nature is more leisurely. The sun comes up, it moves across the sky, and you begin to synchronize to that rhythm.” — John Mackey
“We live in a fast-paced society. Walking slows us down.” — Robert Sweetgall
“If you are in a bad mood, go for a walk. If you are still in a bad mood, go for another walk.” — Hippocrates
“I took a walk in the woods and came out taller than the trees” — Henry David Thoreau
“A rainy day is the perfect time for a walk in the woods.” — Rachel Carson
“In every walk with nature, one receives far more than he seeks.”— John Muir
“The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.”— Lao Tzu
“Walking is the ultimate travel adventure. You never know where your feet will take you.”— Richard A. Schmidt
Walking without walking?
In these busy days, I can’t always take a walk like I used to. How fortunate are those people who can still do that whenever they feel like doing so!
But even without walking, I still try to give myself a dose of inspiration from it. How? By “walking without walking”. Or to put it in simpler terms, by watching “walking” videos through my laptop.
As I take a deep breath now and then and rest my mind a little from work, I take a few minutes to watch some videos that take me to a walking tour in some scenic spots.
Here I let my mind (not my feet) take me walking. I use my eyes and my ears as well.
I’m able to view beautiful sceneries like streets lined with trees in their autumn splendor. I’m able to hear the gentle sound of rain as I virtually walk in a path I’ve never been before. I’m able to use these videos as though they are portals that take me to another country in a moment’s time.
Here are some videos that can take you into a walking tour at your own home:
Autumn Sunrise Walk in Woodstock, Vermont
An Ethereal Morning Walk in a Dreamlike Cotswold Village
Mürren, Switzerland, walking in the rain
Morning Sunrise Walk on Ilwon-dong Neighborhood in Gangnam (Korea)
I hope you enjoyed this virtual walk with me! I leave you with a poem by Bliss Carman about walking:
A Wood-path
At evening and at morning
By an enchanted way
I walk the world in wonder,
And have no word to say.
It is the path we traversed
One twilight, thou and I;
Thy beauty all a rapture,
My spirit all a cry.
The red leaves fall upon it,
The moon and mist and rain,
But not the magic footfall
That made its meaning plain.
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