Mindful Monday
- Kimberly Winters
- 4 hours ago
- 3 min read

One of this biggest impacts my regular walks have had on me is around being present.
It's so easy to spend all day in a state of distraction, moving from one task to the next, scrolling one reel after the next, never fully paying attention to what we're doing, how we're feeling, or what we're experiencing. I am guilty of it on a daily basis, but it is something I'd like to improve. I had no idea my walks would be the first place I would begin my practice. Here are the 3 main ways my walks help me be in the present moment.
Breath
My usual route begins uphill. As someone who was quite sedentary for the last few years this was very daunting (as I mentioned in my blog here) and I realized I had to learn how to breathe so I wasn't gasping the entire way up the hill. I was immediately pulled into the present moment. Focusing on my breathing took me out of my head....the head that was definitely thinking "this is hard, it might be too hard, you shouldn't do this." Had I not been so focused on my breathing that hill would have felt impossible and right from the start I would have been setting myself up to dread the first leg of my walk. Before I knew it, I had made it to the top of the hill. The reward of making it to the top of the hill is that the rest of the walk is mostly downhill and when I veer off onto side streets any hills there are minimal. A month in and I am still finding my breath but I welcome it, the hill is still difficult but, it could be worse if I let it!
Sounds
I love birds and consider myself a novice birder (check out my blog on how that came to be here) and every time I take a walk I listen for them. I turn on the Merlin ID app so I can track which birds are around and get familiar with bird song I don't yet know. I get completely lost in their bird song, it's really fun when you realize birds are doing a call and response. I can identify multiple birds by their calls and even am getting familiar with warning calls and calls of some juvenile birds. I've also heard the commotion of song birds protecting their nests or babies when a Fish Crow has entered their space. There is a whole world going on right outside our doorstep!
Sights
As I am walking I will slow down to watch a bird or birds in a tree, hopping in the grass, dust-bathing...etc. I see deer playing, squirrels digging up a treat they had buried last fall, birds flying from tree to tree or chasing aforementioned Fish Crow, even Turkey Vultures soaring above. Chipmunks run along fences, bunnies hop across my path, turtles lay eggs, and swim in the pond with a multitude of fish.
Each walk fills me with wonder and I spend so much time in the moment, appreciating the life around me that before I know it, I've walked 2 1/2 miles. I decided to start walking because I know moving my body is important, I had no idea how important it would be for my mental health too. No podcast, audiobook, or music playlist gets me so far out of my head and into the moment as these walks where I just appreciate the breath that fuels me and the incredible surroundings I have to keep me focused on the here and now.
I've seen how this impacts the rest of my day as well. My emotions are more even, I feel less stressed, I am not bothered by every little thing. I am excited for the day ahead and am more productive. Who knew?! (LOL)
How do you tap into the present moment? Tell me in the comments below!
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