The photographs in this slideshow were taken during these walks over the course of the year. I invite you to linger over them. Perhaps they will awaken a memory, inspire a moment of reflection, or simply offer a measure of peace. Come along with me, if only for a few moments, on one of my strolls….
These walks have become my sacred practice. They are the most necessary part of my day. In our productivity-driven global society, even small spiritual practices are easily dismissed as a waste of time. And yet, a society singularly focused on accumulating wealth, concentrated in fewer and fewer hands, becomes fragile and ultimately unsustainable. Perhaps it is, in the deepest sense, more productive to take a quiet stroll—or to do whatever else feels sacred to you. Such practices can restore perspective, cultivate balance, deepen gratitude, and reconnect us with a world infinitely more alive with meaning.
What are we to do? Each of us can choose small ways to deepen our inner life while contributing, however modestly, to the well-being of the world around us. Trust yourself. Take one small step. Learn from it. Then take the next one. Perhaps your first small step is simply to take a quiet stroll.
P.S. Many great philosophers over time expressed these sentiments:
“Ten thousand flowers in spring, the moon in autumn, a cool breeze in summer, snow in the winter.
If your mind isn’t clouded by unnecessary things, this is the best season of your life.”— Wu-men, Chinese Zen Master (1183–1260 AD)
“He who has two loaves of bread, let him dispose of one of them for some flowers;
for bread is the food of the body, and flowers are the food of the soul.”— Galen, Greek Physician/Philosopher (130–210 BC)
.jpeg)
.jpeg)
.jpeg)
.jpeg)
.jpeg)
.jpeg)
.jpeg)
.jpeg)
.jpeg)
.jpeg)
.jpeg)
