“The sky is the daily bread of the eyes.”–Ralph Waldo Emerson
“If you are seeking creative ideas, go out walking. Angels whisper to man when he goes for a walk.”–Raymond Inmon
If you have worked from home during this quarantine period, you have most likely experienced some form of frustration, isolation, emotional upheaval, or perhaps even anger, depression, and/or anxiety. Add to the pandemic crisis a strong sentiment of public unrest due to social injustices and inequalities, as well as high unemployment, and it is no wonder that mental health issues are on the rise. How does one cope with all of these stressors in a healthy manner? Based upon my research, there is no one right answer.
Many mental health experts tend to agree on the fact that we should all maintain and/or create a routine for sleeping and waking, hydrating, eating healthy food, and some experts will even emphasize the importance of taking a daily shower and not working in pajamas all day–which is amusing to me on a number of levels. Others suggest the importance of finding a creative outlet, reading those been-meaning-to-read books, gardening, cooking, organizing closets, and so forth–anything that feels productive and useful. Still, others highlight the importance of exercise and spending time in nature as ways to maintain and/or strengthen mental health. While all of those are noteworthy and worth exploring, due to the months-long quarantine period, I rediscovered the soul-healing power of exercising in the great outdoors.
I’ll be honest, Dear Reader, and I suspect I am not alone when I write this, I have a history of battling bouts of depression, or my dark side as I humorously like to call it. Usually, it’s seasonal or situational, never long lasting, and fairly easy from which to recover. However, the quarantine period was different. In fact, the months of March, April, and May, felt dark, difficult, and downright disheartening, and I was employed! I have to wonder how much more devastated I would have felt if I had lost my job.
Initially, I would joke that as an introvert, I had been preparing to quarantine my whole life. However, I quickly discovered that the new demands of trying to integrate work into home life, along with a couple of other major life shifts, made it hard to establish a routine, much less stick to one. I tried meditating every morning; then I tried practicing yoga every morning. Still, no tangible routine ever formed that significantly pushed away the mental darkness.
One event that nudged away a few clouds were the days in which my husband, John, and I cut off the work day by a certain time, and then drove to a local walking path for a 30-40 minute walk. Unfortunately, so much of our local spring was, more often than not, wet, rainy, cloudy, and cool–exceptionally cool given the time of the year– for these afternoon excursions. This was compounded by the fact, like many Tri-State residents, that we do not live in a neighborhood conducive to walking, we always had (have) to drive to a path.
Image from St. Mary’s Proctorville Walking Path
One day, I began randomly googling exercises for back injuries as well as walking-to-running training plans for those recovering from a back injury. Nearly ten years ago, I had begun running as a form of exercise and found that while I was not particularly fast, I thoroughly enjoyed being outside on trails, paths, or sometimes side-walks as well as following goal-setting plans. In fact, I loved it so much that I ultimately ran several half-marathons, a couple of 15-milers, and even completed two marathons–one in honor of my 50th birthday. All of that came to a screeching halt when I injured three discs in my lower back.
It had been nearly four years since I last ran, but as I sat there that day, reading on-line, I began to wonder if perhaps I could run again. Maybe slower and for shorter distances than last time, but what if . . . .
While researching, I also found a wealth of information regarding the benefits of exercising outside–especially as a way to cope with stress. Some of the benefits of outdoor exercise include: improvement of sleep; increased absorption of Vitamin D, increased productivity, creativity, and problem solving; alleviation of stress; reduced anxiety; boosted mood, and lowered blood pressure. Furthermore, for me, a training plan provides some semblance of a routine as well as the sense of accomplishment with each completed workout, especially when everything else in life feels chaotic.
Images from Kanawha Trestle Rail-Trail
Then, as serendipity would have it, I ran across an on-line board that answers questions and provides reading material that solely focuses on recovering, healing, and preventing back injuries. In one post, I read an article that referred to a book and walk-to-run training plan from 2011 called, Run Your Butt Off. Quickly searching for it, I found and read the plan as well as the author’s notes. This plan is fully available on-line; you do not have to buy the book, although I did purchase a used one later.
The gentle and positive words of the authors of this plan have inspired my butt to get outside for exercise.
As I read the kind and encouraging words of the plan’s author, I began to believe I might have stumbled onto something doable. While it is a 12-week plan, the author strongly and repeatedly encourages exercisers to work through the plan at their own pace, stating that most newbies take longer than 12-weeks. With those heartening and gentle words, I decided to give the plan an honest try. (Full disclosure, the book also focuses on good eating habits, but who couldn’t benefit from a little nutritional 101, especially with the quarantine pounds many of us, myself included, have packed on.)
Images from Kanawha Trestle Rail-Trail
Without belaboring the details, those proverbial clouds are thinning, and the mental clarity is brightening once more. Sure, the gradual progression from walking to running feels good, but it’s the getting outside in nature and the people/critter-watching that are really at the heart of it. Yes, I keep my distance from others, and I do have my mask nearby, but I typically do not wear it while exercising. (The research seems to be mixed regarding whether one should or should not wear a mask, but all agree that social distancing is still the rule regardless.) Seeing trees, smelling grass, feeling the uneven surface of a path under my feet, hearing the call of the red-winged black-bird, and even tasting the fresh air of each inhalation–I feel a renewed connection.
Several years ago, I learned that each person’s heartbeat is unique. No two people’s hearts beat at the same rhythm. Add to that tidbit, the wonder and magnificence of each creature, each blade of grass, each birds’ song, each rock’s shape–all are distinctive and all are connected by the universal pulse of the Divine Creator. Being outside and immersed in nature, I am reminded that I am connected to a bigger picture. I am in awe of the wide-screen image of mankind, all of God’s creatures, Mother Earth, and the universe beyond; and in those moments, my mind is as free as the pitter patter of my own heart and two feet.
Whether walking, running, biking, kayaking, fishing, or simply enjoying a cool breeze in the shade, I hope you make time to get outside and soak up some of the sweetness of the natural wonder that is our world.
P.S.
Dear Reader,
Word Press, the company with which I use to produce this website/blog, recently updated, and I don’t quite have the hang of how to edit and arrange pictures. Please bear with me over the upcoming weeks as I learn to re-navigate this wonderful platform.
Steph Simply 