Life can be unpredictable and chaotic, especially these days. It is important to take time for yourself. Like most things in life, self-care is on a spectrum. It looks different for each of us. Whatever you need is what it is.
“It is solved by walking.”
I love this quote, and I believe in it. For me, walking is a form of meditation. Movement in the body brings about movement in the mind. I love the rhythmic sound of my feet on the ground, the steadily changing scene, the freedom of finding my way.
Most evenings, my wife and I zigzag around the East Side for an hour or so on foot. We always take a different route than we ever have before. There’s an amazing urban forest here. Some of our favorite spots around town include Swan Point Cemetery (seriously—it’s beautiful), Blackstone Park, Prospect Terrace and College Hill, the lawn in front of Ladd Observatory, Roger Williams Park, Ten Mile River Greenway, and the hills of Neutaconkanut Park.
On weekends, or whenever I have a morning or afternoon off, I often look for a new trail—there are tons nearby! I love the sensation of going into the woods—how the sound of cars quickly fades, overtaken by the crunching leaves and the creaking trees. For me, going into the woods is restorative. The Japanese word for this is shinrin-yoku, which has the delightful translation of forest bathing. Forest bathing involves slowly walking through a forest and taking it in through all your senses, which appears to help lower anxiety and stress. A few walks just a short drive away include Long Pond, Wolf Ridge Forest, Carr’s Pond, Lime Rock, and Steere Hill (pictured above with my wife Sonia and friends Fritz and Dan.)