A daily morning coffee-walk is a three-way thoroughfare to keep your mind clear for a happier life.
How else to survive the torture of daily news . . .
- from media
- from work
- from life
The news is one notch above the town sewer, collecting the worst maladies of the day.
Recently, the following words were front-page on the Dallas Morning News.
- . . . Dallas’ Painful Past
- . . . Arming Schools Against Threats
- . . . Shining Light on a Dark Time
- . . . Survivors Struggle While Waiting for Aid
Daily news desecrates our soul and turns our minds into a cesspool of despair.
“If I am to be a thoroughfare, I prefer that it be of the mountain-brooks, the Parnassian streams, and not the town sewers.” Henry David Thoreau
But, everyday walking intersects your mind with 3 refreshments.
Coffee-walk refresher #1: Light
Light beats the demons down. Especially early morning light.
The happiest times are outside in morning light.
That’s why my day begins by walking out the front door with a cup of coffee.
Outside is a thoroughfare of . . .
- light
- wind
- people
- creatures
The early sunlight on trees, mountains and lakes reflect wonder.
“. . . every walk is unreproducible, as is every poem. Even if you walk exactly the same route every day, as with a sonnet, the events along the route cannot be imagined to be the same from day to day. If a poem each time is new, then it is necessarily an act of discovery, a chance taken, a chance that may lead to fulfillment . . .” A. R. Ammons, A Poem is A Walk
Why not view every morning walk as another chance for inspiration?
Coffee-walk refresher #2: Spiritual health
Walking intersects our soul with God’s Spirit.
I especially love barefooted treks.
Feel the grass sweep your feet.
Feel a watered lawn bathe your toes.
Birds serenade as you sip coffee.
Vision hovers in wonder.
Sun, moon and stars inspire walkers everywhere.
That’s because they are signposts of God’s presence.
“I set out to dispel daily depression. Every afternoon I get low-spirited, and one day I discovered the walk . . . I set myself a destination, and then things happen in the street.” Vivian Gornick
Coffee-walk refresher #3: Scatter the demons
Walk . . .
- in your neighborhood
- around a sport track
- close to water
Embrace small and gentle goals.
Just get outside.
Demons hate fresh air because God is in the fresh air.
“He walks upon the wings of the wind.” Psalm 104:3
Inspiration evolved in regular outside walks for . . .
- Jean-Jacques Rousseau
- Henry David Thoreau
- William Wordsworth
- Martin Luther King
Why? Because movement sparks connection with God and people.
“Walking is a way to find possibility in your life when there doesn’t seem to be any left.” Austin Kleon
What inspires your walk?
Loved this! Needed this today! Thank you, Steve!
So glad you enjoyed it. Thanks for sharing Liz!
Another good one Steve Ref Bridges… A life worth living is to live in communion / connection with my true-self, God, God’s creation and our neighbor. Suffering occurs when we are separated from my true-self, … (no bridge)
Well said my friend. Trying to increase time in the “creation” the remaining years of my life. I spent too much time inside in the early years.
Thank you so much, Steve, for your practical and simple suggestion for providing peace amidst our abundance of the media’s bad news. It is really wonderful for me to see you writing on your blog! You do great work.
Inspired by you and your comment dear friend. Hope your summer is a pop of inspiration.