I suppose we all have different activities that we choose in order to bring more peace and balance into our lives. Some people will meditate, or do yoga and I suppose some take part in slightly more high energy activities like mountain biking, paragliding or whatever. I have never really been one for adrenalin sports. Actually, I have never really been one for any team sports if I am honest.. The only sporting activity that ever truly interested me - especially way back when I was in school… was athletics - and more specifically, running.

I guess that makes sense coming from a family of runners. My dad, all three of my brothers and myself have always been involved in it in one way or another. Admittedly, the men in my family, definitely on a more competitive front, running in marathons and trail runs etc. Me, well - I don’t really run anymore, except on my treadmill - and even that I limit, because I do notice the impact it has on my body nowadays. So, for that reason and for the fact that I find walking more enjoyable… that is what I do - and I do that on my treadmill as well as out and about.

Many say that walking is actually a lot better for you than running is anyway. I am note entirely sure how true that is… but nonetheless and no matter, I prefer it. Thankfully, I live somewhere now where walking out in the open, surrounded by nature is an option which is literally on my doorstep. I never used to have that option in the city, which is why I bought myself a treadmill in the first place. Now the treadmill only really gets used on those wet and cold days when walking out is not really an option… or at least not a particularly pleasant one. About five minutes from my house is the lagoon, which is has endless paths to choose from and you can walk for about an hour along the waters edge of the lagoon right up until it meets the ocean - that is when the mouth of the lagoon is not open obviously.

Walking for me is incredibly meditative and since moving here has become something which I actually crave if I don’t get to it for a few days. There is something quite magical about the silence and simplicity of being surrounded by nothing but mother nature, your footsteps and your thoughts. Aside from spending time in my garden fiddling with my plants - walking is probably my best escape from the noise of the world. I find that as I get older, my inclination to remove myself from people and all the chaos which they generally being along with them.

It is not that I don’t enjoy people - I do, but a lot more selectively now than I ever used to and I genuinely don’t see anything wrong with that. I find that the less people I involve myself with - the less drama there is in my life, lol. Time alone - especially out in nature - allows me to make space for myself. It gives me a chance to be still and take it all in. Something which the world seems to be forgetting about a lot of the time these days. Other people may not need it, but I do and I find that the more I get it, the more I want it.