Set off for a ten minute walk somewhere near home, trying to find a route that takes you through the more green areas of where you live. Make the time special—just for you. Do not try to link it with a walk to the shops. At first walk as briskly as you are able, then have a few minutes of thoughtful walking, and finish with another few minutes of striding out.
In a notebook complete this quiz:
-What was the weather like?
-Write down how many flower colours you found.
-What did the sky look like? Were there clouds? what colour and shape were they?
-What did you see that made you smile?
-Stroke a leaf! What was its texture?
-What did you see that you would like to have shared with someone else?
-Did you hear a bird singing and could you see it?
-As you walk think of one thing that you need to sort out with someone (even if it was not your fault).
-What sort of expressions did you see on people’s faces? Did they all look well and vivacious?
-Pick something to bring home with you.
-Did you wonder about anything you saw? How high up does the wind go? How does the colour get into the flowers, but not in the stems and leaves?
-What kind of flying insects did you see?
When you arrive back, put your ‘find’ in water and place it where you can see it. Have a long drink of clear spring water, and then think how you feel. You may have a drip on your nose from the cold; you may be glowing from the warmth; the wind may have swept some of the cobwebs away, but it is more than possible that a smile will not be far away. While you still feel like this, write a short note to the person with whom you have a problem, and make your side of it right. You might have ‘to eat humble pie’. The result will be a sense of relief and well-being, that you have not had for some time.
IN THE SIMPLICITY OF THIS EXERCISE, DO YOU REALISE WHAT HAS BEEN HAPPENING?
- You have immediately had a small physical benefit—more oxygen in the blood, better circulation, and increased protection against infection. Your lungs have been opened up. Your heart has had exercise. Your drink of water has irrigated the system with no additional calories, and with no caffeine to artificially affect your mood. The plus points will last a great deal longer than your walk!
- The chances are that your mood has lightened up a little and the problems that you face will not seem quite so hard to tackle. From the increased oxygen, and the water that you drank, your thought processes will be clearer.
- When you wrote down something that made you smile, your spiritual side was being woken up and you are the richer for it. The same was happening when you saw something that you wanted to share with someone else.
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