walking – Ahuva’s Blog

Sunrise Walk

Some mornings when I do my walk I need to forcibly stop thinking and LOOK and LISTEN and EXPERIENCE the world about me. Practice some mindfulness while I practice physical healthy living. (Yes, I’m way too Type A personality to just sit and be mindful – but I can do it while I’m walking. *grin*)

This morning was the extreme opposite experience. Today I needed to remind myself that I could NOT stay in one spot and take photos of the sun rising. It was so majestic. Sunrise demands that you pay attention. Sunrise demands respect. Awe. Joy.

I apologize for the power wires and telephone poles, but that’s my world – old township before those things were buried beneath us. Yet the sky transported me why beyond earth’s surface today. What a wonderful walk.

Colors of the Day

Ten weeks ago I began commuting to work. *grin* Not really, but that’s how the idea arose. We were having “Ladies Lunch in the Sukkah” (not yet blogged) and we were talking about the various changes in every day life since the pandemic. We were discussing the pros and cons of working from home. While I love the convenience, I do miss the office companionship. Kate said she missed her commute, because that was her only exercise. Amy said she’d read somewhere that missing the commute was a common theme and she’d read an article that suggested walking around the block 5 times before sitting down to work. I don’t know why but that resonated with me 100%.

Kate and I agreed we’d try “commuting” together. Well. *grin* It didn’t work out. The very condensed version is we made it ONCE, in the AFTERNOON (the commute home), along with her elderly dog. If you have ever taken a walk with a very small elderly dog you understand that there is no way we reached what I would consider a commuter’s pace. We also only made it around our block once. I’d say that counted as 2 blocks however because our block IS the size of 2 since a street stops before it bisects the block.

I knew I’d never make it around the block 5 times – how boring would that be???? Silly as it sounds, I didn’t even want to walk AROUND it once. No, I don’t know why. Maybe that’s leftover from all my own dog-walking days. I decided that “5 times around the block” meant 20 sides – 5 x 4 sides to a block. I set out in the morning and walked 20 sides. Yay me!!! I did it again the next day, and the day after. I got faster, I got more fit, I got inspired.

I am now walking 32 sides (that’s 8 blocks if you are counting 🙂 ). That includes The Hill – I walk UP the hill. I used to walk clockwise one day and then counter-clockwise the next. But now that I do The Hill, I always go clockwise so I can go UP The Hill. There is another slight rise walking in the last quarter of the route going clockwise so I always feel very virtuous at that point.

I mapped the route and it is 2.54 miles. On a good day – meaning one when I feel I can go at an exercise pace – I can do it in just under 45 minutes, or just better than 3 mph. Yes – these little numerical breakdowns are EXACTLY how I get through the walk each day. I use the time to try to take my mind away from my life & work, to try to practice ‘mindfulness’ – being in the moment. Hence the photos (this batch is the last of the fall leaves, I’m sure). I’ve also managed to NOT walk on days when I knew my body was not going to respond positively. Yesterday’s walk was a very short walk, no hills, no rises, because my back was hurting. I doubt I even did 2 miles. BUT – I DID get out and walk and I did it without pushing myself to the point of pain. *smile* I’d call that a successful walk.

On the Road with Hunter

I went adventuring today! I did something that I’m willing to bet most of you have NOT done. I went walking through the countryside. Okay – I know Dale goes walking/flying. I think Chestnut does also. Maybe a few more on my friends list have mentioned moving through the sims instead of teleporting. But I think that most of us simply choose expediency over experience.

I logged in this afternoon after a day at the RL beach. I was still fairly mellow, in a vacation frame of mind. I was chatting with my friend Hunter when he asked if he’d ever mentioned his Highway 8 time. I had no idea if he was talking RL, SL, or what/where Highway 8 might be. He told me that Highway 8 is one of the roads in SL built by the Lindens. Sometimes when Hunter is in the mood for something different or new or unusual, he gets on Highway 8 and starts WALKING. I like walking. I am not especially fond of flying; I do when necessary, but I tend to walk about to get where I want to go. So the idea of strolling through SL was very intriguing. Hunter told me about the steampunk furniture store he’d found earlier (yes – he shared the landmark). Told me about the goth store he’d seen recently. I asked to join him and he graciously allowed me to join him on his wandering.

We wandered down Highway 8. It was curious, indeed. A long stretch of open road, no cars. As we walked things rezzed to the right and left. The first few things I saw evoked a lonely, desolate feel – half-done buildings, empty inside, walls not complete. Perhaps construction had simply stopped for the night but, because there were no other people, buildings, stuff, it felt like it was deserted. Abandoned. Foreclosed. Dust-storms. LOL. Okay – I’m getting carried away again. 🙂 But Hunter and I both agreed that it felt like an abandoned dream.

We wandered on. There are many curious sights. Giraffes are NOT typical lawn ornaments in my life, so I was glad to see them along Rt 8. We found a lovely garden with a gazebo for dancing. Of course we had to try it out. *grin* But first we had to finish hanging the laundry on the line. We passed an av in a silver sports car, but she must have been afk as neither she nor the car were moving.

We wandered through a mostly empty sim, came to a more commercialized area. We went exploring in an “antiques” store. LOL. We found the perfect dinner table for romantic, intimate dinners. Not. /me rings bell for Jeeves. It was great fun and I’m sorry that, as usual, RL pulled me away before I’d gotten to do all the exploring I’d have liked to do. I certainly recommend walking down the road. The road markers are placed at the sim boundaries. *grin* So we got to watch each other sink and disappear a few times as we crossed into the next sim. So get yourself out on the road and take a hike. *grin* Only in SL can I tell you to go play in the road and mean that in a NICE way!