In spite of the fact that it is basically midwinter, I went for a long walk on the beach, a couple of days after Christmas.
Beach walking is one of the things I like to do to relax and find some peace and quiet in my mind. In a sense, I have come to think of my beach walks as a "walking meditation."
In All Sorts of Weather
A look down the beach...
Western Washington is a mixed bag-- weather wise-- in winter. I have occasionally experienced sun, wind, rain, mist, hail, snow and a few other things... all in the space of about four hours. I remember one time I got to the end of my walk during a frosty snow squall, and my beard was a giant icicle!
On this most recent occasion, the sea was calm as a mill pond when I left, but whipped into considerable surf by the time I came home.
None-the-less, I felt very refreshed upon my return.
In a sense, the day was a bit like a metaphor for life: ever changing, and you just never quite know what you're going to get.
A Great Technology Break
"X" marks the spot?
One of the reasons I find these walks not only important, but also very healing is that I spend far too much time in front of the computer.
It's the life I have chosen at the moment-- making a living from a couple of eBay based businesses, and during the day hours, I am at our small art gallery which happens to be at basement level, so I don't even see daylight. And while I am there, I am probably working on the gallery's blogs, social media or online store.
I expect more and more of us are tied to a desk with a computer... and so "technology breaks" are really important to me.
And I can usually sense that my brain starts to get foggy and my thoughts slow down and become muddled if I go more than a week without "breaking state."
Now It's a Photo Op, as Well!
A branch reflected in calm waters
Ever since I started blogging again, my beach walks have also become photo opportunities. Since all the photos I use on these pages are my own, I'm in constant need of new material.
Well, I prefer to use new material. I actually have tens of thousands of images here on my computer hard drive. But it's nice to use something current.
Of course, it's only since we moved here (11 years ago) that I have gotten back to walking meditations on the beach. But I have always used "getting out in nature" as my point of relaxation.
So how about YOU? Do you have a favorite place (or activity) to go to when you need to be quiet and to "de-compress" from life? Do you live near the ocean and beaches? Or do you have a park, or maintain hikes? Do you find nature to be relaxing and healing? Leave a comment-- share your experiences-- be part of the conversation!
created by @zord189(As usual, all text and images by the author, unless otherwise credited. This is original content, created expressly for Steemit)
Created at 180106 10:27 PDT