Walking Meditations and Wandering on the Beach to Find Balance and Peace
In spite of the fact that it is basically midwinter, I went for a long walk on the beach, a couple of days after Christmas.
Beach walking is one of the things I like to do to relax and find some peace and quiet in my mind. In a sense, I have come to think of my beach walks as a "walking meditation."
In All Sorts of Weather
A look down the beach...
Western Washington is a mixed bag-- weather wise-- in winter. I have occasionally experienced sun, wind, rain, mist, hail, snow and a few other things... all in the space of about four hours. I remember one time I got to the end of my walk during a frosty snow squall, and my beard was a giant icicle!
On this most recent occasion, the sea was calm as a mill pond when I left, but whipped into considerable surf by the time I came home.
None-the-less, I felt very refreshed upon my return.
In a sense, the day was a bit like a metaphor for life: ever changing, and you just never quite know what you're going to get.
A Great Technology Break
"X" marks the spot?
One of the reasons I find these walks not only important, but also very healing is that I spend far too much time in front of the computer.
It's the life I have chosen at the moment-- making a living from a couple of eBay based businesses, and during the day hours, I am at our small art gallery which happens to be at basement level, so I don't even see daylight. And while I am there, I am probably working on the gallery's blogs, social media or online store.
I expect more and more of us are tied to a desk with a computer... and so "technology breaks" are really important to me.
And I can usually sense that my brain starts to get foggy and my thoughts slow down and become muddled if I go more than a week without "breaking state."
Now It's a Photo Op, as Well!
A branch reflected in calm waters
Ever since I started blogging again, my beach walks have also become photo opportunities. Since all the photos I use on these pages are my own, I'm in constant need of new material.
Well, I prefer to use new material. I actually have tens of thousands of images here on my computer hard drive. But it's nice to use something current.
Of course, it's only since we moved here (11 years ago) that I have gotten back to walking meditations on the beach. But I have always used "getting out in nature" as my point of relaxation.
So how about YOU? Do you have a favorite place (or activity) to go to when you need to be quiet and to "de-compress" from life? Do you live near the ocean and beaches? Or do you have a park, or maintain hikes? Do you find nature to be relaxing and healing? Leave a comment-- share your experiences-- be part of the conversation!
created by @zord189(As usual, all text and images by the author, unless otherwise credited. This is original content, created expressly for Steemit)
Created at 180106 10:27 PDT
Wonderful post. I live nearby a few lakes and I have made it a priory to take daily walks around the lakes while focusing on my breathing. It's amazing how quickly the mind settles down once awareness is placed on the body's breathing rhythms.
Nature can definitely be a great healer... and I find that my focus also gets a lot better once I come back home.
I’m one of those type of people that when I’m sad , I like sitting near the water or looking at sunsets to make me feel like my problems are very small
I am very, very lucky. All I have to do is go out on to my balcony and it's all the break I need. I am the type of person who needs lots of "alone" time. And I do get that in my apartment (living alone). If I need a "technology break" to get off the computer, I just stand up and go out on the balcony.
There is a constantly changing panorama on display:
I would say we are both quite blessed in where we are, and what we look out on-- although your climate is a little friendlier. I, too, can walk out on the back deck and see something like the photo below.
My wife and I are both introverts and we've found a balance of being "alone together" that works, with our separate work spaces at opposite ends of the house. Where we live is fairly sparsely populated, so on a walk on the beach I seldom see more than maybe 1-2 other people... often none. And I like it that way. Steemit (and other social media) is about as "social" as I get.
You two sound just like me. I'm so introverted.
Introverted, and easily overstimulated by lots of "stuff" going on. Not afraid of social happenings and events, just feel exhausted by them.
Thanks for making that very key distinction. True, I'm not afraid of it but it doesn't take more than a couple hours for me to be "over it"
Oh my! I could have written that post myself. I also walk on the beach (actually beside it mostly as our local beach is pebble) in order to regain some equilibrian.
I've also spent the last year in front of a computer screen and want to get away from it. Not ebay in my case but drop shipping. I'm finding I'm not quite able to let go it if as it's a good business but in my heart I want to.
I also lived in the Pacific Northwest for a time albeit 30 years ago now.
And I just joined the steemit bloggers this morning!
Very twilight zone-ish!! 😁
Welcome to Steemit :) Hope you enjoy our community!
Although I must admit that I haven't practiced it often, I agree that meditation in nature is superior to the usual meditation. I think that being in the nature calms our natural instincts, disturbed by our fast pace of lives and our high dependence on technology.
When you don't have time for walks in the nature or longer meditative sessions, I recommend trying this on, it's my favorite:
Cheers!
I think you're precisely right in that it gets us away from technology and human-made noise. And let's face it, we can spend money on a CD with "nature sounds" or we can step outside the front door (or go to the park) and get those sounds naturally. For me, the outside air is important-- and walking by the seaside is particularly good, due to all the negative ions in the air.
I immediately felt a sense of calm from your photos. I am a lover of simplicity and especially nature. I happen to live smack in the middle of NYC right now, where I'm from, but I haven't always lived here and we do have nature all around us, marshes, beaches and when we're not having brutal cold or recovering from a blizzard like right now I am infamous for riding my bikes all over and up into Westchester county to take in the fresh air, trees and whatnot. More pictures coming of the ocean this year.
Thank you for this and I look forward to more of your posts.
As much as anything, it's just about getting "out of the box" for me. I don't "relax" watching TV or stuff like that... I need a complete break of state. And nature and the outdoors does that for me. I have to have lived my childhood by the sea, so that's my preference... I lived 250 miles inland for a while, and then I would just go running on the greenbelt trails.
I find walking in nature keeps me centered and a much needed break from technology. I live in Western Washington as well. It’s dumping at the moment. Get your walking in while you can 🙂
Today it has mostly just been "misting" here on the Olympic Peninsula. We live in one of the dryer spots around here... our kids often say it's pouring in Seattle where they live, while it's dry over here.
When I need a break I just go out to my pool. Not so helpful when its 50 degrees outdoors. Shame the solar panels can’t keep up during the winter time in Florida.
That's what my parents were always complaining about in Phoenix. Even though the sun was pretty much out for 95% of daylight hours... of course, their nights were usually around freezing, in the winter.
I totally agree, and THANK, @denmarkguy - you have hit the nail right on the head, with this one - ANY level of different kinds of meditation, can help with any level of ANXIETY Conditions (severe & mild, to minor Anxiety Conditions). However, all human beings are completely different, especially when it comes to people's immune system. So it certainly appears that, meditation is quite much more useful than once believed!! - GREAT work again, @denmarkguy!
Meditation is cool in the sense that it seems to help all kinds of people; all ages, all philosophies.
Love to read it.