I struggle to get enough exercise because in my mind exercising for the sake of exercising seems onerous and boring. I’d rather be curled up in a chair with an excellent book or pecking away at my computer getting out the build-up of words in my brain.
BUT…put me on a hiking trail, though, and I have a reason for moving this bod.
Send me off in a kayak and I’ll paddle a full day and 20 miles with a smile on my face.
Last night, however, something small shifted in my brain.
I was out around 10 pm walking my cat, Hobbes. He used to be a free-range cat and came and went through out dog door at will. Now that we live on the road, it just doesn’t feel safe to send him out the door into a strange place unsupervised. So, now we walk him.
And last night, we were walking around a big field. The night was very cold – in the 20’s – and I was bundled up in a jacket with my hood up.
The sky was clear and the stars were amazingly bright.
Hobbes had his red harness on and we walked around the field and up the driveway several times. He was so happy to get out and stretch his legs, to sniff the ground, breathe in the cold air, and he got quite excited when he spotted a small bird fluttering around in the brambles.
I had a moment last night walking around in the crisp cold – I realized I was moving my body and it was good. Hobbes was moving his body and it was good. Together, we were doing a form of exercise, albeit gentle and not necessarily aerobic. But that didn’t matter because we were indeed out there moving.
I realized that when I think of exercising, I think of sweating, breathing hard, and treadmills at the gym. Bleh.
Last night, the night sky and crisp air last night reminded me it doesn’t have to be like that. Gentle movement does a body good, too!
Gentle reader, when was the last time you gave your bod some gentle movement? Stretching, strolling, and wandering…good for the mind, body, and Soul. And good for the cat, too.
** And – I don’t have any photos of me and the cat wandering about in the field last night in the dark under the stars because, well, it was DARK.