How to Guarantee a Good Start to Your Day
Do you want to know a way to guarantee a better start to your day? Reduce your stress levels? Make you a nicer person (and nicer people are happier!)?
Get outside. First thing.
I was out this morning walking my son to his school bus stop. It was 7:30 and the air was cool and sweet, the street full of spring flowers. But, you know, I loved it in the winter time just as much. It’s peaceful. It’s fresh. The day is full of promise. A new start. I actually smile as I walk.
His is apparently the little boy bus stop. Seven balls of energy running around even though it’s early. They rub off on me every time. It’s infectious. It’s inspiring.
Most of us are indoors all day. Many of us are under florescent lights, seated, in front of computer screens. Not our natural habitat, and extremely unhealthy. We need this pop of nature. It is where you belong. You need it every day.
Connection with nature will raise your vibration. You feel connection to the universe, to god if you will. To yourself.
I was talking to a man on my street who walks every day before work as an engineer. He says, “If I weren’t out walking I’d probably be in front of the TV. It’s kind of social as well. I see a lot of the same people every day and get to chat with neighbors. I used to have a dog, and I still carry treats for my dog friends. They know me when they see me coming.”
Not only will getting outside make you feel better, it has been shown to reduce stress, reduce ADHD, raises vitamin D levels and improves long distance vision. Not bad at all. The benefits increase tenfold the longer you walk.
And let’s talk about our brains for a sec. Taking 15 minutes in nature and away from all of our screens will give you a pause to think, to work things out. It can actually be a meditation if you like. It will help increase your focus for the day ahead. Pause. Reset.
Try it for a week. I’m not asking you to hike for an hour or anything (although that would be amazing!). Just walk around your block for 15 minutes instead of scrolling through Facebook or checking your email. Every day. For 1 week. And then tell me how it makes you feel.
Never mind. I already know.
B.
Update September 18, 2015: Well, school ended and I was worried I'd stop walking, but I didn't! I walked even more. I have explored all the streets around where I live and I know all the early morning neighbors, dogs, cats, spiders and bird's nests. I have become almost addicted to my walks and I miss it if I skip a day. A morning walk is definitely in my arsenal of meditative practices for good.
