A Walk in the Sun

We should take wandering outdoor walks, so that the mind might be nourished and refreshed by the open air and deep breathing.

 —Seneca

They say, if you are in a bad mood, go for a walk. If you are still in a bad mood after that, go for another walk.

As the quote tells us, this wasn’t just true in the olden days, when the Roman philosophers sought to escape from a notoriously loud city life, that used to be amplified by the sounds of wagons and vendors and blacksmiths hammering away, amid the piercing violence of the streets, but stands good even today, when a walk in the fresh air is al that we need, to clear our heads and get on with our lives, no matter what challenges come our way.

It’s one thing that we all love to fall back on. And not just us, lesser mortals. Even poets did that before us and so did the thinkers, the writers and most of all the philosophers who found walking offered a plethora of benefits, most noteworthy being the fact that they usually found their muse during such walks that guided their creative pursuits. Nietsche is said to have once said—”It is only ideas gained from walking that have any worth.”

There are days when we know we are a mess inside our heads. And then, there are days when we realise we aren’t so, but our mind forces us to juggle too many things which then lead us to a crisis and we end up worked up, fragmented and somewhat despondent. Today, for me, was that kind of day. The kind of day when I’d been trying to find solutions to a tough problem that had been bothering me for months. The kind of day, when I’d been mulling over a decision or two, that were stamped with a certain sense of urgency. It was a day when I knew I had to get away from myself, if I were to draw any peace within.

That is the kind of day when a walk really helps. Need some brainstorming? Or perhaps a creative burst of ideas? Or you’re feeling stuck and need to find a way out? Perhaps, all you need is to call someone and talk to them? Or maybe, you just need some fresh air. The answer to all this and more—go for a walk in the open.

Nothing better, I assure you, than a walk will do, to nourish the mind, energize the body and bring clarity of thought or even rouse the muse back from slumber, to sit by your table as you pull out your pen and scribble away.

Nourishing the soul is just what I ended up doing today. That I clocked in a 5K in 37 minutes was a bonus, after all! The brain fog vanished. The sadness got washed away. The little cracks inside, were re-aligned and moved back to seal in the gaps. Everything was back in place again.

All it took was a walk in the sun.

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Written as part of our #SoulfulSunday free writing exercise, along with my friends, Vinitha and Shilpa.