Walking Tour

Today, my brother and I went for a long walk. From downtown Vancouver, along Robson (shopping a bit... eating ice cream!), to Stanley Park (around the Lost Lagoon, lots of ducks and even a swans), to Second beach (lots of joggers, as always) and then down on the sea-walk back to Granville, and then we ended up in Chapters.

By the end, my legs were a little tired, but I was glad that we spent the day outside. It was a bit chilly, left over from last night's snowfall. But this just made the air crisp and fresh. As a bonus, the sun was shining, and I felt like my whole body was trying to soak it up! I was also surprised to see how many people were out for a stroll, or jog, or walking their dog, on a Thursday at 3pm! All that fresh air made my cheeks rosy, and my breath deeper.

Since moving to Vancouver, I've really started to appreciate walking, just in itself. Not walking in order to get somewhere, just walking for the pleasure of it. My brother also recently noticed how pleasant walking could be without listening to music. We are the ipod generation after all. In meditation, we practice Aimless Wandering, and today, walking with my brother around downtown Vancouver felt a bit like that practice. We didn't have a destination, we didn't have anywhere to be... and so we could just be, in the present.

I think it's unhealthy to always be listening to something, to always have a distraction, in order to not be thinking. For instance, people often believe that when they are watching tv, they are doing nothing, but that's not true. When we watch tv, we are bombarded with information, so much information that we cannot be in tune with the information from our own body. But more on this some other time.