Crystal Cove, morning December 2017 copyright Douglas Stockdale
Earlier I expanded on how my morning walk has ventured into the “wild side” as I am now going off-road onto the neighboring nature trails (okay, maybe this photograph above from walking on the ocean beach is not really the “wild side”, so read the earlier posts). I also hinted that the daily walks was part of my life style change as much as a creative endeavor and perhaps was more about my health than wanting to start a new artistic project.
So a warning, this post is about being healthy ;- )
Okay, so why the emphasis on walking now? The smart-ass answer is that due to some skiing accidents I can’t jog or run. Which is slightly related to my reason for walking now; last year while skiing I took one fall and had trouble getting back up on my skis. In the past I would have popped right on, but this time I was like the upside turtle; I could not get up without some help. Crap! I was the old guy on the hill. In retrospect my issue was a combination of being too heavy, lack of muscle tone and wearing some klunky ski clothes that got in my way. So last summer I made a decision; first, lose some weight with a target of a minimum of 15 pounds, get off my ass and not vegetate at the computer desk and invest in a better ski jacket. Thus reason one for walking; lose some weight and get some exercise. Working! (almost lost 15 pounds and based on my last round of golf, more endurance)
Reason two: a little bit more cardio; while walking this summer, I was traversing the neighborhood sidewalks, so pretty level ground and not much of a walking challenge. Going off road the terrain has more elevation changes; more frequent and greater changes so now when I return to the studio I am usually in a sweat. That’s also good to help improve my resting and working heart rates. Yeah, that heart rate was in equally bad shape before this and now the trend is moving in the right direction.
Reason three: a time for meditation and reflection. While walking I can practice breathing (which improves smelling and a lot of great things out there on the trail) and time to think about the various things going on. Calming. Introspection. A walking mediation.
Reason four: I now have another artist project in development and an opportunity to practice seeing in conjunction with observing. So this opens me more to what is going on outside the studio.
I am guessing you can probably think of other good reasons for walking, so let me know your thoughts on why you walk?
cheers!
Singular Images 