Inspired Monday: walk it off

I've been taking lots of walks lately...this should come as no surprise since I've mentioned on here that (one of) my day job(s) is as a petsitter/dog-walker.

Here's one of my charges.  She enjoys grass.

If you're feeling stressed, creatively stuck, or just need to take an energizing break, then my advice to you would be to go take a hike!  Literally.

I find that, not only are walks good exercise, they also give you time to be with your own thoughts.  I don't listen to music or anything when I walk because I usually just want to pay attention to my surroundings...which is something I admit I need to work on doing more, and it's hard to do these days without constantly checking your phone.

When you slow down and look around, sometimes you see cool things.  Like lizards the size of your foot!

But that's why walks are so good for de-stressing, too: they allow you to think about what's on your mind, mull problems over, or just come up with new ideas.  I've had great ideas come to me while on walks.

Someone yarn-bombed the railing alongside the wash.  As one does in Tucson.

Plus, you tend to see interesting stuff, since you're seeing your neighborhood more slowly and more close-up than when you're just driving around in your car, or even riding your bike. (Pointless fact: when I was little, my mom used to put me in a Radio Flyer wagon and walk around the neighborhood with me, and I called the wagon "the close-up car" for that very reason.)

Texas Ranger plant that started blooming profusely after the rain this weekend.  Smells pretty, too.

Or, as is the case when I'm walking my canine charges, I get to explore other neighborhoods that I don't usually visit.  And since dogs like to stop and sniff weird things, go chasing into bushes after lizards, or find the shadiest places to cool off, you get to see corners of the neighborhood that you otherwise might have completely missed.

Like this office park that had three different manmade ponds with fountains.  I drove by here tons of times and never knew this was there!

It doesn't have to take long.  Just go out for a walk either in your neighborhood or near your work, for ten or fifteen minutes, today.  You might notice something new.

Or you can at least find a few stones to paint.