Saturday Morning Mindfulness Stroll

Mindfulness walk using the five senses.

Photo by Arek Adeoye on Unsplash

This Medium story is in response to reading Rachel Gause’s “Walking Mindfully.”

The weather wasn’t bitter cold as I initially thought it could be before venturing outdoors to walk through my apartment complex. The cool breeze that touched the few exposed sides of my tan skin that wasn’t concealed by my camel ascot and baby blue facial mask felt refreshing.

The sudden rustling of a squirrel prancing through the grass and leaves startled me. This would be something I wouldn’t have normally observed in prior strolls since I decided not to listen to any music for my journey. Today, my ears would be serenaded by the symphony of cars speeding on the Atlantic City Expressway and geese honking during their swim in the complex lake.

And speaking of geese, I thought it was odd observing two fowls standing on opposite sides of the black mulch of an entrance to a stairwell like Buckingham Palace. Darting my eyes between the two creatures, I tightly gripped my metallic, black Pittsburgh Steelers container, sipping the strawberry kiwi infused water to eliminate the memories of Alfred Hitchcock’s The Birds flooding my thoughts before proceeded slowly, allowing them to stand in peace.

Crossing a weatherworn, red bridge, I felt the difference in sturdiness between walking on the man-made wooden structure versus walking the granite pathway of the trail before stopping at the sight of a battered green bench. I started wishing thoughts of warmer weather, so I could’ve pulled out my journal and had a seat to write, feeling disappointed that the sun was concealed by the overcast sky.

I missed the comfort of its tepid, golden rays against my skin. Despite the forecast, I felt grateful to get outside and appreciate nature’s surroundings for the remaining minutes of this last hour’s morning.

Lowering my facial mask to drink my sweet beverage, I inhaled the fresh scent of the cool air following today’s brief drizzle before returning home to document my observations.