Morning Walks

It was a long, rough summer for me, but here I am, staring down the barrel of Winter. The leaves have fallen, the weather is beginning to require at least a scarf and gloves, and I am spiritually in my hermit cycle. This is the time of year for deep thoughts. I spend time reviewing the year past to see what worked, what didn't, where I am now and where I want to go when spring pops her pretty head up sometime in March.

I recently acknowledged that I have gotten out of the habit of self-care. Mental illness does not take days off, so I have to be vigilant about making a daily commitment to care for my body, mind and spirit in one way, shape or form - however that looks. I am an early riser, regardless of time of year, what has happened the day or evening before, and regardless of time-zone. Without me-time first thing in the morning, I will still get up early, but I usually start right in on taking care of the house, making my husband lunches, cleaning up the messes we all left from the night before, and generally being of service. By about mid-morning, I get that all-too-familiar feeling of overwhelmedness and resentment.

A few weeks ago, I reintroduced the habit of going for a walk first thing in the morning and am reminded again, of the importance of getting in touch with my Self and my Purpose first thing in the morning. I love walks for many reasons, but let me share some impressions from my morning walk ritual:

Since moving into our house at the end of the lane, I have loved the fact that we live right on the railroad trail here in our town. It carries me to downtown in one direction, and the other direction takes me out to some of the most beautiful inner-city natural areas I know. This has become my happy place. Any time I am in nature, I find myself feeling more alive. The trail is the perfect blend of nature and community.

As soon as we moved in, I started running the trail at various times of day, but I found the morning-time is my favourite time to be on the trail. I have found my morning trail people to be an extension of community that I would otherwise not be a part of. These people are out there, rain or shine, walking their dogs, walking or running alone or in pairs, walking their children to school, walking to the grocery store, but they're all out there, doing the same thing I do. Some walk and talk together, some walk and talk on their phone, one man even walks with his transistor radio tucked into his pocket. I see the regulars biking to work, like I have done in years gone by, but the thing that has made the greatest impact is that they are out there, just like me. Although we each have our own agendas, be it simply getting from one place to another, or getting in touch with nature, or challenging our PR, we are 'out there'. We commune with nature and by extension, with each other.

By reintroducing this me-time, I have reminded myself of the essential, positive impact it has on my life. I reminds me to honour and recognize that on every level, my physical and mental health come absolutely FIRST. This was not always the case, and in this moment in time, the pull of other loved ones' issues compounded with my own battle with S.A.D. makes it particularly challenging to put myself first.

I spent many years putting others before myself. After all, isn't that the golden rule? But the reality is, I gave EVERYTHING away, and left nothing for myself. What I have finally learned and now BELIEVE is that I must keep myself running at top performance if I'm to be able to truly serve others. If I can spend even 30 minutes filling myself up first thing in the morning, I have so much more to offer others throughout the day. My perspective on what I can do, and what I need to do are much more balanced. I can say yes, and no, with grace and more ease than had I not taken that time to set my intention and remind myself of my purpose at the start of my day.

Morning walks or runs might not be for everyone, but I do believe that setting a specific time of day for focussed mental-health sessions and inner reflection will provide a framework to be able to stay grounded and focused on rocking your mission, whatever it is.