Cold Truths

Well it’s been a while since I last posted hasn’t it? At first it was because I had a cold and wasn’t really walking much and then we entered the festive season and I was busy eating, drinking and being merry. Still it’s always comforting to know my little blog is quietly waiting for me whenever I feel like coming back to it.

Anyway back to today’s post, don’t worry I have no interest in dropping any truth-bombs (is that still a saying?) however while I had my cold I made a couple of realisations. First of all there have been times in the past when I’ve been out for a walk and I keep pausing to take photos. I would sometimes chastise myself for stopping as I should stay in the moment and enjoy my walk. However while I was feeling poorly and the winds were howling it was was actually nice to look back at old photos, of course it’s not as good as being there but when you can’t get out then it’s comforting to look back at the times you could. So in future I will happily snap away whilst I’m out & about enjoying a stroll.

Unsurprisingly being stuck indoors also reminded me how much I enjoy walking, shocking I know! But once the cough calmed down and there was a break in the gales I was delighted to get out again, it was only a short walk but it was greatly appreciated after an unexpected hiatus. While missing walking was not a surprise, I was startled to realise that there was something else I missed. This is going to sound daft but I missed being able to take a deep breath. This cold was one that caused more coughing than sneezing so anything more than a shallow breath led to a bout of coughing.

There are times when I will conciously take an extra deep inhalation, for example if I receive a vexing email at work from someone asking me a question for the millionth time instead of replying straight away to remind the buffoon that my answer will not change no matter how many times you ask me, I’ll pause to take a deep breath in… and out. In… and out. I then calmly reply to the request without pointing out the other person’s shortcomings and all is well.

I’ll also use deep breaths during my longer walks as I’ve discovered there is a reason why spectacular views are described as breath-taking – they often arrive after a very steep climb! Aside from the practical benefit of taking some deep breaths, they also help me to feel more connected to my surroundings. I’m often lucky enough to be the only person up on that viewing platform, there are no sounds of humanity – no chattering, no vehicles – it’s just me and Mother Nature. Taking time to do some deep breaths helps me to feel grounded, to connect with Gaia.

However it seems that in addition to these concious moments of deep breathing, I subconciously take several deep breaths as I realised when I was no longer able to do so. I’m not quite sure what the conclusion is here except simply to take this as a reminder to enjoy the simple pleasures; whether that’s a calm day after weeks of wind, a generous portion of chocolate panettone for breakfast or even just a deep breath.

That’s how I stroll.