Now that winter is here, except for the occasional ski day, I don’t normally move around as much as I do during the warmer months. I decided I should change that. According to a book I read on neuroplasticity (The Brain’s Way of Healing by Norman Doidge, MD), the absolute best way to stay sharp and keep your brain in shape, is to walk 3 miles per day at a brisk clip. (He talks about it here at about 8 minutes in*) So, yesterday, I measured out how much a mile was, and timed myself. Turns out, it takes me about 50 minutes to walk 3 miles, so this morning, I set my timer to 25 minutes, and took off. Time will tell if it keeps me out of the Alzheimers ward, but I do hope it will also do good things for the rest of me.
I always forget how nice it is to meander through your neighborhood on foot. You see things in a whole new way, and have time to notice things you don’t when whizzing by in a car. And, I think I said “good morning” to at least 5 people, including a mail carrier busy at work. Walking is a nice, neighborly experience, it turns out. I like that.
One of the main things that thrilled me was looking up. I mean, really – who needs Christmas decorations when you have THIS? I also saw lots of gardens. Some where you could tell a gardener lived, and some, not so much. I noticed multiple perfect empty spots along the way, for some kind of plant, or other. Which led to this fun idea, where I was imagining myself as a guerilla gardener, sneaking out late at night and planting something in chosen spots. Not in a mean way, like this guy I met, who, in taking revenge on a scumbag landlord planted 8 Kudzu plants around the house when he moved out. YIKES! No, I’m talking about paying forward some of the bounty we gardeners possess, either by some form of propagation, division, or simply by our desire to switch things around. Anyway, I’m dreaming… You know that most people probably wouldn’t even notice, and – if they did – they most likely wouldn’t remember to water. Still, it would be fun, wouldn’t it? I mean, you just might make somebody’s day…
* Funny, as I listened to the video, I realized it is 3 kilometers – not 3 miles! Oh well, I’ll just tell myself that that last mile is for my waistline, and not for my head. LOL!
Thank you Anna for brightening my Wednesday mornings with your keen eye and wonderful sense of reality and the simple wonders of our existence on Earth.
You are so very welcome! 😀
Love the photos and totally agree: there’s often so much beauty around, we forget to notice it. My neighborhood isn’t particularly garden-centric, but I do bicycle almost daily, and walk when I don’t bike. Whether it’ll keep me mentally sharp, well, that remains to be seen.
Ours isn’t very garden-centric either (I like that word!) but I found that slowing down still makes you notice a few encouraging spots. Yeah, who knows what the future holds… Fingers crossed!
Walking through neighborhoods is a great way to notice all the beauty that escapes us as we speed through in our vehicles on the way to somewhere else. Your great photos are a wonderful way to start the day. Thanks.
Always happy to help! I have to tell you, for a while now, I have longed for the world to slow down. I think I was meant to live in the 20th century – not the 21st. I can’t keep up – nor does it interest me to do so. Maybe I’m just cementing my trajectory to becoming an old fogey… which would be fine, too.
What a great post. You are too correct about folks not noticing plants.
I have had guests stroll through my garden to my front door without so much as a glance at my crazy collection of flowers.
I guess they are like me about cars. My son and husband marvel over automobiles, while I puzzle at what the fuss is about something with four wheels. Ha
Oh, absolutely! I’m with you sister – I have ZERO interest in cars! LOL!
Walking in the garden gardening counts, too! :^)
Yesterday out by the road on the HOA property I took out a crown-galled dying rose and replaced it with an Arbutus. Hopefully nobody gets mad…
I guess it does, but my garden is so small, I’d have to make hundreds of laps….
Good for you for donating an Arbutus for the common good! How could anyone possibly be mad about that?? I’m sure it was an instant improvement – you guerilla gardener, you! 😀
I love the way you dealt with the Km, Mi confusion. 🙂 Happy Wednesday.
Haha – yeah hopefully I will remember to stick to that! 🙂