We all know that walking is a great way to relieve stress or anxiety, and I try to do as much of it as possible. My daily routine involves a lot of walking – mainly to and fro between home and school. Tom needs collecting at lunchtime – so I have three hours to myself each morning while he’s there. But because I walk the same route every day things can get pretty boring.
Last week, I needed to head into town after school. Instead of taking the quickest, and dullest, route I decided to take some time out to go down to the river. It took longer, but it was really refreshing. I took the camera and tried to notice as many things as possible. I could feel myself relaxing – my mind settling into a different channel. Away from the familiar sights, which trigger all the familiar thoughts, my mind felt invigorated. I listened to the sounds, watched the clouds whizz by in the wind, and soaked it all in.
Along the way I saw:
Beautiful wisteria…
A different view of the Cathedral that I hardly ever see…
An eccentrically piled up brick wall – I wonder how long it has been like that?
A blossomy bus-stop…
A dog on a boat…
And a lilac narrow boat…
So, next time you’re feeling a bit stressed, take a different route. It really helps.
Your photographs are beautiful, I love your posts. x
Thank you Marie – I’m so pleased you’re enjoying them 🙂
What a beautiful post. My husband makes a conscious effort to take a different route to nursery, work and home every day. I’m a stickler for routine and so I always take the same route. He makes fun of me for it – it’s boring, you’ll fail to notice things, you’ll miss out on interesting sights on the other routes. He absolutely has a point, as do you! I like the idea of taking a camera – perhaps a little purpose, however random, is precisely what I need to tempt me out of my routine 😉
Thanks for reading! I think it depends whether you thrive on routine, or not! I like it, but it can feel very stifling at times – doing something different once a week definitely helps me 🙂