A Daily Walk

You know me. I tend to zip from one thing to another. I have two speeds -- fast forward and all stop. Very little in between.

My mind runs the same -- it's always zooming from one thought to another. Thinking of things I need to do, things I want to do, things I wish I could do. Always running.

Just like me.

So I like to find ways to slow myself down -- well hopefully not to a complete stop! Music helps. It quiets my mind, helps me slow a gear (gosh if only I was as fast on my bike!). Another is walking.

I love to walk to my meetings on campus -- and spring is such a great time to walk. To see nature pop out, the ducks and geese nest, the heron hunt. I'm blessed to be on the "wrong" side of the river on campus, meaning I must cross it for most of my meetings.

The geese, mallards, mixed ducks. The beautiful hunting herons. The turtles, the snakes.

You miss all of this in a car. Sure you can try but you are moving too fast, it's not very safe. But walking. You can stop, enjoy the beautiful flowers close up.

Watch the geese (my favorites, but VERY protective as they nest. And yes a bit mean!) interact with the mallards. The activity on the river is fantastic. The calls, watching the geese land in the water, squack to organize the group for a trip into town.

And the heron's. Wow -- what fantastic birds.

The white and mixed ducks are, granted, a bit odd. I think there is something a bit funny going on around the Olentangy. They are obviously mixed breeds but present a beauty all their own. Their coloring at times points to mallards, sometimes the geese, sometimes a domesticated ducks. Interesting and always worth a closer look.

But it is the flowers that signal spring. The quick bursts of color from the ground, slow at first, then bursts that linger in the changing temperature. The Cancer Survivors park is carefully planted every year, adding life and color the the bronze family running across the lawn.

You miss this in a car. Probably why I like riding my bike (although really all I see is the butt in front of me, not bad usually though come to think of it!).

And it quiets my mind, slows me down, reminds me of all those things that are so much more important than those day to day issues we chase at work.

So I walk, and watch and explore. There will be time later to zip from thought to thought, task to task.

For now I walk.