Fit The indoor & outdoor activities supplement
Edited by Conor O’Hagan
Walking
The Spirit of Christmas Walking
Conor O’Hagan exhorts us all to get up and get out there over the festive season It’s customary these days – almost obligatory in some circles – to see Christmas in the negative, lamenting vulgar excess and over-indulgence, urging moderation followed by atonement in the New Year. I once heard a radio healthy eating guru estimating a typical Christmas Day calorie intake. The figure was somewhere over 5,000 – which I thought sounded on the abstemious side. I think I’m there before the bird’s dead most years. Anyway, the general idea was that this is a Bad Thing and to be mitigated with a few tips, duly provided. But if there’s a Lite way of doing Christmas, I’ve never found it. Anyway, who’s looking? It’s traditional; we eat, drink, sleep it off, start again, put on weight. In this, the last Senior Times before Christmas, it’s something of a no-brainer that I’m going to exhort you to step outside the yuletide comfort zone and do some walking over the next fortnight. But not as an antidote to Christmas - as the perfect compliment. This Christmas, walk for the pure pleasure of stirring the blood; to brace yourself for the inevitably disappointing TV, to make room for more food. And because it’s different; the tranquility of city and suburban streets on 54 Senior Times l January - February 2020 l www.seniortimes.ie
Christmas Day transforms the experience of walking, while the pleasure of greeting total strangers is one of those feelgood details that make Christmas what it is. Do it socially; aside from food, drink and presents, Christmas is about being with people, talking with them, sharing time. Other than the next frenzied bout of self-indulgence, there’s probably not much to hurry for. But my big idea for Christmas is this; walk with your family. If there’s one time of year that’s right for it, it’s now. No other time is as unhurried, as open to novelty and as powerful in forming positive associations. That’s especially valuable with (grand)kids, for whom the memory of a walk enjoyed could be formative. One more thing. It’s not to late to invoke the real Spirit of Christmas and make a pitch for a seriously worthwhile stocking filler. Because somewhere out there (and this has been statistically proven by freelance scientists) someone still hasn’t decided what to get you. The answer, which they’ll be almost pathetically grateful for, is walking gear. A pair of walking shoes or boots, a good set of waterproofs, not forgetting a subscription to Senior Times – they all make handsome gifts, and they’re investments in your future. Because however Hallmark it may sound, the best gift you can give friends and family is a healthy you.
