Sacred Life Sunday: As easy as walking..

Today is the first day in the past few weeks that I've been able to go for an aimless walk.

Over the past few weeks it's simply been too hot so this morning was particularly satisfying. I stood under trees and looked up, paid special attention to the gardens in the neighborhood, stopped by Starbucks for a lemonade/green tea drink, wandered some more, petted a few meandering cats, watched the cars go by, sat on the lawn watching the breeze in the trees, went into a store to buy some peaches and leisurely walked home.

I walk a lot ordinarily. It's the best exercise in the world because it's something we do naturally anyway. Something tells me human beings were not designed to be transported everywhere in vehicles. I also suspect that aggressive, purposeful walking is not what we were designed to do. We're designed to walk. Just walk.

I walk almost everywhere in Thailand, too. Thai people walk... a lot! When they need to get somewhere, they might ride a moped or a small motorcycle but it seems they walk for the most part. It's only been recently that so many people have cars. The roads have not had a positive effect on the landscape. Still, there are always plenty of places to walk. There are always plenty of others doing it and plenty of things to see.

Sometimes it's interesting to just get on the bus to another part of the city and then walk around there. The Midtown area is one of my favorites because there are lots of old Victorians, interesting shops and interesting people. Some of the best spontaneous conversations I've ever had in this area have been around L Street, Cesar Chavez Park and McKinley Park.

It is a comfort knowing that in a few short weeks, autumn will be coming and there will be a greater opportunity to aimlessly walk.

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