Walk About
Every day for a very long time, daily walks have been part of my routine. It started with taking the dogs out. Dogs like a schedule and never miss the chance to remind you about that. Now though, even if I am getting a break from having to take the dog, I need to walk.
I mostly love to walk in the early morning when the likelihood of a chance encounter is slim. I am not looking for company. This is the time when the tone of my day gets set. My brain gets to air its cobwebs from the previous night’s meanderings. I don’t think through problems, although many times I can see things more clearly afterwards. I don’t think about anything particularly. Sometimes, I sing. Sometimes, I need to get angry or cry because I know it’s a safe place to do that. I know the universe can take anything I happen to throw its way. It’s my daily dose of therapy.
Walking by myself also provides different ways of seeing. It’s slow enough. Not like bike riding which is definitely better exercise. It isn’t about that cardiac high. It is something much more subtle. Many times I am so bundled I can’t feel the air anywhere except on my exposed cheeks and yet, being in the open air is somehow a whole body tactile experience. If my thoughts are quiet enough, the sensual experience is even greater. I smell more, see more, hear more. Without the usual chatter inside my head, the experience isn’t muddled. It is direct and genuine. I’m not thinking about it too much. I leave that for the studio.
So, this week, I took a few walks and decided to bring my camera. I always have my cell phone and will often take shots when I know I need to remember something back in the studio. But this week, I went out with the intent of taking photos. I am not sure what the difference is from my random iPhone photos, but it felt different. I found it a little frustrating as my clumsiness with the camera took away from the mindfulness of my walk. And the photos, well, I will still just use for inspiration in the studio for other mediums. Maybe someday, this kind of documentation will present itself as a new medium for me. Perhaps the photos will stand on their own as pictures. For now though, this is a glimpse into what inspires me to make shapes, colors, textures and clarifies particular content such as determination and tenderness, stability and precariousness. I still have so much to learn.