WALKING
COMING TO YOUR SENSES… By Rachel Woods
What goes through your mind when you’re on a trail or footpath? Dinner, shopping, work stuff, the football? Do you ever get that feeling that you know you’ve moved through a certain area, but can’t recall having been there? How much attention do you pay to the route that you’re taking, to the environment, the textures, sights and sounds of your surroundings? I had one of those moments, I was lost in thought. I was thinking about a book contribution I’d agreed to write and how intimidated I was at the calibre of the other contributors. I lost about half a mile of my route; I don’t recall a thing about that part of my stroll. The topic of my article ‘Nature as a Reflective Partner’. Oh the irony. With this in mind, I invite you to take a more immersive approach to your next excursion. I don’t mean the sort of journey where you’re trying to get somewhere and have a deadline. I mean the sort where the activity itself is the focus, the purpose. Before you set off, pause and check in on your state; how you feel. Note any areas of tension, concerns you may be carrying. The nonphysical baggage we pick up each day. As you set off, note the space with all of your senses. Maybe leave taste out of it but focus on the rest. • Look around, the ground, the sky, the canopy of trees if you are in a wooded space.
• Finally, what can you hear, try and identify three different sounds in the environment. What this does is create a sense of presence, you’re conversing with your senses and waking them up to be more observant. Paths that are familiar can then offer up more because you’ll be open to noticing. Taking time to pause and focus in on tiny things, lichen on a tree trunk. Tiny flowers in fractal patterns that are so abundant we forget to look at the individual flowers seeing only the sea of white clusters. If you can, pause to gaze up into the canopy offered by the trees or check out what the clouds are doing. Move past the temptation to try and predict if it’s likely to rain and appreciate the shapes, colours, shadows and movement they offer. Follow the path of a bee or bird, safely of course. Notice the gaps and potential trails used by our more nocturnal neighbours. If you can sit safely, try pausing with eyes closed to hone in on the birdsong and feel the air moving around you. Finally, when you return, try to resist the urge to dash back to everyday life. Pause for a moment to recall what you noticed. Run through the same self-checks you did before leaving and notice what’s different. If you’re anything like me, you notice you feel that little bit better.
• Breathe deeply, noticing the scents around you, the quality of the air. • What can you feel, temperature, breeze, the clothes on your skin, your weight on the ground?
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