My healing journey inspired by the book Healing Walks for Hard Times by Carolyn Scott Kortge
Stricken! That’s how I felt today. A few days ago, I started experiencing a horrible, intense itching on my hands; palms first, but then the whole hand. My hand looked normal. I didn’t have a rash or bit of any kind, so the itching was a mystery. It lasted a few minutes, my only relief was vigorously scrubbing my hands with a wet wash cloth. I suffered three occurrences over a period of four days. So, today, I walked roughly 3/4 of my walk in comfort on the track, using my focusing techniques and enjoying the silence. But on the last section, my feet started to itch. Intensely. I barely made it to my van. I ripped off my shoes and socks and started scratching my feet as hard as I could, to no avail. Again, there was no rash, or any indication as to the reason for my dilemma. I don’t know how I made it home I the van. I was scratching my feet against the gas and brake pedals, reaching down with my hands to scratch and getting no relief from anything. The itching subsided about ten minutes after I got home. Itching is not a platform for inner peace!
Korge mentions that people who have moved away from fitness for whatever reason, be it a physical or emotional trauma or an illness, must slowly build up to trusting their bodies again. About ten years ago, I saw a doctor about some concerns I was having with my hands and feet. She diagnosed me with secondary Reynaud’s Syndrome. She explained that the term “secondary” described that my Reynaud’s couple with the other symptoms I was having, was likely brought on by a more serious inner connective tissue disorder. She said that whatever it was, would begin to manifest over the next few months or years making diagnosis easier. She named the five disorders which were the possible culprits. I am not sure I can even spell them, or remember them all. They all sounded like heavyweights in world of physical ailments. I read about each of them on the internet, and made a deliberate decision that I did not want any of these problems. For goodness sakes, I am the mother of a large homeschooling family. I am needed. My contract doesn’t even allow time off for colds, mush less anything debilitating. So, like Scarlet, I decided to think about that tomorrow.
Meanwhile, I have continued with life, basically ignoring my body’s fitness needs and the fact that I was gradually gaining all of this weight. I even had another baby 4 ½ years ago. Logically, we all know that ignoring a problem, doesn’t make it go away. Not having a concrete diagnosis didn’t mean that I didn’t have something to be diagnosed. So instead of one of five dreaded disorders, all five disorders took turns playing guessing games with me.
“Your hips ache? Maybe it’s me, Rheumatoid Arthritis. Nice to meet you!”
“No energy? Muscles screaming? Maybe it’s me, Fibromyalgia. Is this seat taken?”
“Hey, you know me, Lupus. I’m hereditary. Nice butterfly rash you’re sporting there!”
You get the picture. Not a pleasant thing to live with five dreaded possibilities hanging over your head. A friend of mine from church happens to be a doctor. She is starting a new practice later this month in the hospital in Decatur. I am planning to be her first patient!
Friday, January 7, 2011
DAY EIGHT January 5, 2011
My healing journey inspired by the book Healing Walks for Hard Times by Carolyn Scott Kortge
I don’t know why, but many Christians have trouble with the concept of meditation. My favorite uses of the word are found in Scripture, mostly in the book of Psalms, which encourage us to meditate on the words and works of God. Other times the concept of meditation is presented in the Bible, but the actual word isn’t used. My favorite example of this is Philippians 4:8
“Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report, if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.”
To me, that is the very definition of meditation…choosing to think on things that are beautiful and positive.
One of the main themes for the book Healing Walks for Hard Times is meditation. Basically, she encourages us to stop the clutter in our minds that often leads to negative or oppressive thoughts by mentally repeating simple positive phrases as we walk. I find that when my battle to continue walking is mental because my heart is heavy or my mind is worried, inspirational phrases from hymns or scripture work best to encourage me. One favorite is, “Jesus lead me all the way.” When the battle seems more physical, I resort to simple physical suggestions. I recite “In, one, two, three, out, one, two, three” to focus on breathing, or “left, right, step light, left right, feels right to focus on my actual steps.
Another lesson I have learned on my walks, is that not all clutter is negative per se’, but it can still be clutter. At risk of totally losing you, here’s a sample of my cluttered mind space:
“I can’t believe how good I feel. I wonder what my time will be today. I will make an extra pass around the recycling bins to increase it. I really should teach Sam about recycling. He would have so much fun looking for number 2’s on all our plastic containers. Speaking of which, I need buy some more plastic shoe boxes for storing my silk threads. I love that silk thread. I believe this skyline is Silk N Colors, winter sky. I think I could paint that. I wonder how Will is doing this morning? Now there’s an artist. He’s going to illustrate my new children’s book. Oh, yes, today is library day. I hope Gayle is there, I have been wanting to invite Micah over to play with Stephen……..”
You get the idea! Now play an upbeat Christian song in the background, and marvel at every single bird or other evidence of wildlife that that crosses your path, and you might have an inkling of how scatterbrained I can be, and it is a fast-paced scatter brained, not a rambling meander kind of scatter-brained. Many times people have told me that just reading a newsy email from me makes them feel exhausted. My mother has told me that it will actually make her breathless trying to follow my conversation in person. Kortge is teaching me that the key to successful walking for me is to clear my head and slow this 90 mile an hour brain down to the essentials.
I experienced unexpected joy today on my walk by changing my course to walking the country road away from my house. I was dramatically reminded of the benefits of living out in the country. I have always been awed by nature. Walking in the center of it with trees overhanging my path and not a single car to disturb my peace was indescribable. I walked 33 minutes.
I don’t know why, but many Christians have trouble with the concept of meditation. My favorite uses of the word are found in Scripture, mostly in the book of Psalms, which encourage us to meditate on the words and works of God. Other times the concept of meditation is presented in the Bible, but the actual word isn’t used. My favorite example of this is Philippians 4:8
“Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report, if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.”
To me, that is the very definition of meditation…choosing to think on things that are beautiful and positive.
One of the main themes for the book Healing Walks for Hard Times is meditation. Basically, she encourages us to stop the clutter in our minds that often leads to negative or oppressive thoughts by mentally repeating simple positive phrases as we walk. I find that when my battle to continue walking is mental because my heart is heavy or my mind is worried, inspirational phrases from hymns or scripture work best to encourage me. One favorite is, “Jesus lead me all the way.” When the battle seems more physical, I resort to simple physical suggestions. I recite “In, one, two, three, out, one, two, three” to focus on breathing, or “left, right, step light, left right, feels right to focus on my actual steps.
Another lesson I have learned on my walks, is that not all clutter is negative per se’, but it can still be clutter. At risk of totally losing you, here’s a sample of my cluttered mind space:
“I can’t believe how good I feel. I wonder what my time will be today. I will make an extra pass around the recycling bins to increase it. I really should teach Sam about recycling. He would have so much fun looking for number 2’s on all our plastic containers. Speaking of which, I need buy some more plastic shoe boxes for storing my silk threads. I love that silk thread. I believe this skyline is Silk N Colors, winter sky. I think I could paint that. I wonder how Will is doing this morning? Now there’s an artist. He’s going to illustrate my new children’s book. Oh, yes, today is library day. I hope Gayle is there, I have been wanting to invite Micah over to play with Stephen……..”
You get the idea! Now play an upbeat Christian song in the background, and marvel at every single bird or other evidence of wildlife that that crosses your path, and you might have an inkling of how scatterbrained I can be, and it is a fast-paced scatter brained, not a rambling meander kind of scatter-brained. Many times people have told me that just reading a newsy email from me makes them feel exhausted. My mother has told me that it will actually make her breathless trying to follow my conversation in person. Kortge is teaching me that the key to successful walking for me is to clear my head and slow this 90 mile an hour brain down to the essentials.
I experienced unexpected joy today on my walk by changing my course to walking the country road away from my house. I was dramatically reminded of the benefits of living out in the country. I have always been awed by nature. Walking in the center of it with trees overhanging my path and not a single car to disturb my peace was indescribable. I walked 33 minutes.
DAY SEVEN January 4, 2011
My healing journey inspired by the book Healing Walks for Hard Times by Carolyn Scott Kortge
You may have noticed above that this is Day Seven for me. I struggled with this a tad bit. Kortge sets up the sample weeks in the book in six day segments. I’m not sure what the latent day is for. I wanted to call her and ask what she wanted me to do on the seventh day each week. My husband, full of wisdom, said it was obvious that Kortge wanted me to rest on that day, just as God the Creator rested on His seventh day. I was skeptical. Maybe I am supposed to take a test on this day? My day of worship was Sunday, and I walked that day, so it hardly seemed okay for me to skip today, without rhyme or reason, willy-nilly, as my grandmother would say. I just can’t do it. It would feel like, well, backsliding! So I reasoned with myself. I am a busy woman with a very unpredictable life. Any day could present a detour to my healing journey by preventing me from walking. I have no idea when those days may come, but their coming is eminent. I will count those random days as my rest days as I need them. Today, I will walk.
If I had to name one thing outside my own mental and physical strength that has posed the most opposition to my walks, it would have to be the weather. I’ve mentioned that we live out in the sticks. We do not have cable or satellite or even network television at our home. The best indication to what the weather will be like is to open the door and step outside. Every morning my alarm rings, and I open my eyes to the window to the right of my bed seeking a visual clue to the weather that will be the backdrop of my walk. This morning’s clues were not inviting. Gray, gray, and more gray, with a side of misty precipitation. Plus, it was cold! Every cell of my body screamed, “No way! We are not going out in that!” And so “we” didn’t. I felt so guilty. Then, I made a decision. I would walk before lunch. This was not a failure, just a change in schedule. The same me…only flexible! So, I scurried around getting the boys started on their homeschool lessons. I prepared breakfast, washed dishes, and started laundry. I skimmed over the Sunday school lesson for this week. Then, right before lunch, I went for my walk. While I was preparing for my walk, the weather was preparing for me. It was cold, but it was sunny and beautiful outside. My regular path takes me past the town’s senior center, which is closed during my usual walking time. A sweet little lady, headed to her car, smiled at me and said, “Nice day for a walk, isn’t it?”
Yes, it is dear woman. Yes, it is.
My walk today was 33 minutes.
You may have noticed above that this is Day Seven for me. I struggled with this a tad bit. Kortge sets up the sample weeks in the book in six day segments. I’m not sure what the latent day is for. I wanted to call her and ask what she wanted me to do on the seventh day each week. My husband, full of wisdom, said it was obvious that Kortge wanted me to rest on that day, just as God the Creator rested on His seventh day. I was skeptical. Maybe I am supposed to take a test on this day? My day of worship was Sunday, and I walked that day, so it hardly seemed okay for me to skip today, without rhyme or reason, willy-nilly, as my grandmother would say. I just can’t do it. It would feel like, well, backsliding! So I reasoned with myself. I am a busy woman with a very unpredictable life. Any day could present a detour to my healing journey by preventing me from walking. I have no idea when those days may come, but their coming is eminent. I will count those random days as my rest days as I need them. Today, I will walk.
If I had to name one thing outside my own mental and physical strength that has posed the most opposition to my walks, it would have to be the weather. I’ve mentioned that we live out in the sticks. We do not have cable or satellite or even network television at our home. The best indication to what the weather will be like is to open the door and step outside. Every morning my alarm rings, and I open my eyes to the window to the right of my bed seeking a visual clue to the weather that will be the backdrop of my walk. This morning’s clues were not inviting. Gray, gray, and more gray, with a side of misty precipitation. Plus, it was cold! Every cell of my body screamed, “No way! We are not going out in that!” And so “we” didn’t. I felt so guilty. Then, I made a decision. I would walk before lunch. This was not a failure, just a change in schedule. The same me…only flexible! So, I scurried around getting the boys started on their homeschool lessons. I prepared breakfast, washed dishes, and started laundry. I skimmed over the Sunday school lesson for this week. Then, right before lunch, I went for my walk. While I was preparing for my walk, the weather was preparing for me. It was cold, but it was sunny and beautiful outside. My regular path takes me past the town’s senior center, which is closed during my usual walking time. A sweet little lady, headed to her car, smiled at me and said, “Nice day for a walk, isn’t it?”
Yes, it is dear woman. Yes, it is.
My walk today was 33 minutes.
Monday, January 3, 2011
DAY SIX January 3, 2011
My healing journey inspired by the book Healing Walks for Hard Times by Carolyn Scott Kortge
Marvelous Monday. My husband doesn’t go back to the factory until tomorrow, so we feel happy to have this extra day of the New Years holiday.
I lay in bed last night finishing the Week One section of Healing Walks, and realized that apparently I was supposed to complete this section before I started my first walk. Kortge goes more in depth about how exercise and meditation techniques help us to heal. She offers focusing strategies, encourages gratefulness, and gives more detail about keeping the daily log. It’s a lot to absorb.
Pillow Talk. I close to the book and confide to my husband that maybe I don’t see this happening.
+
“Don’t see what happening?” he asks.
“Me losing weight.” I’m wistful because I know in my heart that he is a big part of why I am making this effort. He deserves a fit and trim wife.
“Is that the only reason you are doing this?” (I’m impressed. He actually gets it. Who says men are shallow? )
“No, of course not. I am enjoying the whole project. It just seems that it would have to be stepped up so dramatically to actually make a difference in my weight. “
“Well, “ he says, “there are other ways to burn calories.”
“Like?”
“Sweeping, mopping, hanging laundry out to dry. You know, stuff like that.” My man, so practical…a rock, really.
Saying Thank You: I am intrigued by how many instructional insights in the book occur naturally as I walk, but am so grateful for the printed guidance that gives words to what I am experiencing. It helps me to focus and to recognize and squelch negative aspects before they become habits like weeds in the path of my healing walks. Kortge suggests using the time toward the end of my walk to mentally say thank you for all of the cooperative pieces that made the walk possible. Without consciously remembering this, toward the end of my walk, I suddenly was overcome with thankfulness for my legs. From a worldly beauty perspective, my legs do not have it going on, so to speak. However, today, I saw the beauty in their dutiful ability to march along, oblivious to the cold wind penetrating my gym pants. With this new perspective, I now have a new definition of “great legs.” I chanted part of a hymn, “Fear not I am with thee, peace be still” over and over. I considered the omnipresence of God and His presence on this walk with me. There aren’t words to describe how that feels.
This morning, I started Ken’s coffee, ran a sink full of soapy water for the dirty dishes that magically appeared overnight, and scooted out the door optimistic about my walk. The ground was covered in white frost. The puddles were iced over. I walked 38 minutes bundled in my coat and gloves. I came home rejuvenated. That feels good.
Marvelous Monday. My husband doesn’t go back to the factory until tomorrow, so we feel happy to have this extra day of the New Years holiday.
I lay in bed last night finishing the Week One section of Healing Walks, and realized that apparently I was supposed to complete this section before I started my first walk. Kortge goes more in depth about how exercise and meditation techniques help us to heal. She offers focusing strategies, encourages gratefulness, and gives more detail about keeping the daily log. It’s a lot to absorb.
Pillow Talk. I close to the book and confide to my husband that maybe I don’t see this happening.
+
“Don’t see what happening?” he asks.
“Me losing weight.” I’m wistful because I know in my heart that he is a big part of why I am making this effort. He deserves a fit and trim wife.
“Is that the only reason you are doing this?” (I’m impressed. He actually gets it. Who says men are shallow? )
“No, of course not. I am enjoying the whole project. It just seems that it would have to be stepped up so dramatically to actually make a difference in my weight. “
“Well, “ he says, “there are other ways to burn calories.”
“Like?”
“Sweeping, mopping, hanging laundry out to dry. You know, stuff like that.” My man, so practical…a rock, really.
Saying Thank You: I am intrigued by how many instructional insights in the book occur naturally as I walk, but am so grateful for the printed guidance that gives words to what I am experiencing. It helps me to focus and to recognize and squelch negative aspects before they become habits like weeds in the path of my healing walks. Kortge suggests using the time toward the end of my walk to mentally say thank you for all of the cooperative pieces that made the walk possible. Without consciously remembering this, toward the end of my walk, I suddenly was overcome with thankfulness for my legs. From a worldly beauty perspective, my legs do not have it going on, so to speak. However, today, I saw the beauty in their dutiful ability to march along, oblivious to the cold wind penetrating my gym pants. With this new perspective, I now have a new definition of “great legs.” I chanted part of a hymn, “Fear not I am with thee, peace be still” over and over. I considered the omnipresence of God and His presence on this walk with me. There aren’t words to describe how that feels.
This morning, I started Ken’s coffee, ran a sink full of soapy water for the dirty dishes that magically appeared overnight, and scooted out the door optimistic about my walk. The ground was covered in white frost. The puddles were iced over. I walked 38 minutes bundled in my coat and gloves. I came home rejuvenated. That feels good.
DAY FIVE January 2, 2011
DAY FIVE January 2, 2011
My healing journey inspired by the book Healing Walks for Hard Times by Carolyn Scott Kortge
Happy Lord’s Day! It was nice to be back at church for the first Sunday of the New Year. The best way to describe Sunday at our house is that it is definitely Sunday all day. My day begins earliest as I quickly get myself ready for church before everyone else is awake. Then I get the boys started on showers one by one as I do any last minute ironing of their Sunday shirts. My husband and I skip breakfast on Sundays, but I usually microwave instant oatmeal or frozen pancakes for the boys. While Ken takes the last shower, I start his coffee and review the lesson that I will be teaching for the Mary-Martha Sunday school class. We get home from church close to one o’clock. Then there’s dinner and a lazy nap before we go back to church for the evening service.
Silly me… I thought it would be no problem getting up earlier than normal to take my walk. Three snooze buttons into the morning proved that wasn’t going to happen. No problem. I thought I would just sneak in a walk between dinner and my Sunday nap. I hadn’t considered how the event between church and nap would affect my walk. Suffice it to say that a belly full of lasagna makes a very bad walking partner! I think I could hear the sweet tea sloshing in my stomach as I walked. My mind was a mish mash of meditation techniques, “left, right, left right, in, out, in, out, the way of the cross leads home…” Home? I wanted to go home, but I was barely a third of the way into my walk. The fence around the park made a shadow on the track that made me feel like I was playing a life-size game of Chutes and Ladders. “Rung one, step, step, rung two, step, step, slosh, slosh.” It was so beautifully sunny, but so bitterly cold. The temperature between the shady and sunny parts of my walk seemed to vary by several degrees, and I found myself dreading the shady sections. After the first half of my walk, I finished by walking circles around the sunny basketball court… all the while staring at my minivan in the distance. When I did finally make my way back to the van, and dared to look at the time, I had walked 28 minutes, my lowest time so far. My daily goal for each day this week, as listed in my log, is 25 minutes, but I was so disappointed in myself for only walking 28 instead of 30. Why wasn’t I happy? Had I written one goal in the book, but hidden another one in my heart? As, I read over this all too accurate account of my walking efforts today, I realize that I sound like a petulant child. Well, that child is grounded! Also, never again will I attempt a healing walk on an over-full stomach. Tomorrow is a new day.
Healing Walks for Hard Times is an 8 week program. That’s only 56 days, and I have completed 5 of them already. I don’t want this time to zoom by faster than I can grasp its meaning. Is 56 days enough time to make daily walking a part of who I am? Is it really in me to wear out a pair of running shoes? In case you haven’t read this in the book yet, that’s roughly 500 miles. That’s like travelling from here to, well, somewhere.
My healing journey inspired by the book Healing Walks for Hard Times by Carolyn Scott Kortge
Happy Lord’s Day! It was nice to be back at church for the first Sunday of the New Year. The best way to describe Sunday at our house is that it is definitely Sunday all day. My day begins earliest as I quickly get myself ready for church before everyone else is awake. Then I get the boys started on showers one by one as I do any last minute ironing of their Sunday shirts. My husband and I skip breakfast on Sundays, but I usually microwave instant oatmeal or frozen pancakes for the boys. While Ken takes the last shower, I start his coffee and review the lesson that I will be teaching for the Mary-Martha Sunday school class. We get home from church close to one o’clock. Then there’s dinner and a lazy nap before we go back to church for the evening service.
Silly me… I thought it would be no problem getting up earlier than normal to take my walk. Three snooze buttons into the morning proved that wasn’t going to happen. No problem. I thought I would just sneak in a walk between dinner and my Sunday nap. I hadn’t considered how the event between church and nap would affect my walk. Suffice it to say that a belly full of lasagna makes a very bad walking partner! I think I could hear the sweet tea sloshing in my stomach as I walked. My mind was a mish mash of meditation techniques, “left, right, left right, in, out, in, out, the way of the cross leads home…” Home? I wanted to go home, but I was barely a third of the way into my walk. The fence around the park made a shadow on the track that made me feel like I was playing a life-size game of Chutes and Ladders. “Rung one, step, step, rung two, step, step, slosh, slosh.” It was so beautifully sunny, but so bitterly cold. The temperature between the shady and sunny parts of my walk seemed to vary by several degrees, and I found myself dreading the shady sections. After the first half of my walk, I finished by walking circles around the sunny basketball court… all the while staring at my minivan in the distance. When I did finally make my way back to the van, and dared to look at the time, I had walked 28 minutes, my lowest time so far. My daily goal for each day this week, as listed in my log, is 25 minutes, but I was so disappointed in myself for only walking 28 instead of 30. Why wasn’t I happy? Had I written one goal in the book, but hidden another one in my heart? As, I read over this all too accurate account of my walking efforts today, I realize that I sound like a petulant child. Well, that child is grounded! Also, never again will I attempt a healing walk on an over-full stomach. Tomorrow is a new day.
Healing Walks for Hard Times is an 8 week program. That’s only 56 days, and I have completed 5 of them already. I don’t want this time to zoom by faster than I can grasp its meaning. Is 56 days enough time to make daily walking a part of who I am? Is it really in me to wear out a pair of running shoes? In case you haven’t read this in the book yet, that’s roughly 500 miles. That’s like travelling from here to, well, somewhere.
DAY FOUR January 1, 2011
DAY FOUR January 1, 2011
My healing journey inspired by the book Healing Walks for Hard Times by Carolyn Scott Kortge
Happy New Year!
I lay in bed last night listening to the rain fall hard, steady, relentless, and I wondered to myself how this might affect my first healing walk of the new year. We are 45 minutes from the nearest mall, I don’t have a treadmill, and I don’t even own a raincoat! I panicked that I couldn’t skip a morning of walking now, because this new endeavor is not yet habit, and my self-discipline is an oh so fragile thing. One day missed now would be, or could be, disastrous! So, I considered that I may have to hope for the rain to stop and walk later in the day. I considered that I could actually drive to the mall. I considered not stressing, and thought that to be a very good idea. I certainly can’t control the weather!
Mental Balance: Kortge encourages us to balance our minds against grieving and fear by remembering to be grateful. One example mentioned in the book was that of people keeping a weekly gratitude journal of five things of which they were grateful. That sounds like an excellent idea. It never changes that I am grateful beyond measure for the biggies… my faith in God, my family, our church, my husband’s job, and our health. For this past week, I am thankful for the snow (an unexpected blessing here in Alabama!), the excitement of new projects, the senior ladies Sunday school class that I teach, heaters loaned to us by friends when we discovered our own didn’t work, and local libraries in every city that strive to stay open in spite of limited funds. Thank you, Lord, for these blessings.
Walking and the Immune System: This was an interesting segment in the book. I am taking time today to identify what my “chronic stressors” are, but more importantly, I’m working to reduce their effects via my healing walks.
As if to test me, the hard rain became a storm that lasted hours complete with thunder and lightening. Rain came down in torrents flooding the far end of our road that curves around our neighbor’s goat farm. Most of my household was awake much of the night. I prayed that people who chose to ring in the New Year at various parties and gatherings, would find safe passage home.
My husband surprised me this morning by driving me to the mall for my walk and then waiting patiently for me in the car. Our mall has always opened the doors well before business hours each day so that people can exercise in safety and comfort. I felt like I was carrying a poster that read “Newbie”. Men and women many years older than me were racing past me in fancy athletic shoes and suits. I was wished Happy New Year at least a dozen times. A man in a wheelchair offered to give me a ride. I was emotionally moved by several people, who were there probably to follow doctor’s orders, struggling with every step, but determined nonetheless. It wasn’t a peaceful or meditative walk, but at least my new pattern of walking was not interrupted. Praying for better weather tomorrow!
My healing journey inspired by the book Healing Walks for Hard Times by Carolyn Scott Kortge
Happy New Year!
I lay in bed last night listening to the rain fall hard, steady, relentless, and I wondered to myself how this might affect my first healing walk of the new year. We are 45 minutes from the nearest mall, I don’t have a treadmill, and I don’t even own a raincoat! I panicked that I couldn’t skip a morning of walking now, because this new endeavor is not yet habit, and my self-discipline is an oh so fragile thing. One day missed now would be, or could be, disastrous! So, I considered that I may have to hope for the rain to stop and walk later in the day. I considered that I could actually drive to the mall. I considered not stressing, and thought that to be a very good idea. I certainly can’t control the weather!
Mental Balance: Kortge encourages us to balance our minds against grieving and fear by remembering to be grateful. One example mentioned in the book was that of people keeping a weekly gratitude journal of five things of which they were grateful. That sounds like an excellent idea. It never changes that I am grateful beyond measure for the biggies… my faith in God, my family, our church, my husband’s job, and our health. For this past week, I am thankful for the snow (an unexpected blessing here in Alabama!), the excitement of new projects, the senior ladies Sunday school class that I teach, heaters loaned to us by friends when we discovered our own didn’t work, and local libraries in every city that strive to stay open in spite of limited funds. Thank you, Lord, for these blessings.
Walking and the Immune System: This was an interesting segment in the book. I am taking time today to identify what my “chronic stressors” are, but more importantly, I’m working to reduce their effects via my healing walks.
As if to test me, the hard rain became a storm that lasted hours complete with thunder and lightening. Rain came down in torrents flooding the far end of our road that curves around our neighbor’s goat farm. Most of my household was awake much of the night. I prayed that people who chose to ring in the New Year at various parties and gatherings, would find safe passage home.
My husband surprised me this morning by driving me to the mall for my walk and then waiting patiently for me in the car. Our mall has always opened the doors well before business hours each day so that people can exercise in safety and comfort. I felt like I was carrying a poster that read “Newbie”. Men and women many years older than me were racing past me in fancy athletic shoes and suits. I was wished Happy New Year at least a dozen times. A man in a wheelchair offered to give me a ride. I was emotionally moved by several people, who were there probably to follow doctor’s orders, struggling with every step, but determined nonetheless. It wasn’t a peaceful or meditative walk, but at least my new pattern of walking was not interrupted. Praying for better weather tomorrow!
DAY THREE December 31, 2010
DAY THREE December 31, 2010
My healing journey inspired by the book Healing Walks for Hard Times by Carolyn Scott Kortge
We don’t have internet out in the sticks where I live, so even though I am keeping track of things on my home computer daily, I will only be able to update when I am in town. If you are kind enough to follow my daily progress, don’t worry, I won’t skip any days of recording. It makes me very happy to think someone might enjoy reading about my journey.
The book is full of wonderful information and insight, and I am in no way summarizing it properly, or doing it justice. I am finding it to be a much needed guide on my healing journey. I started with page 18 this morning.
A Healthy Step: I read the account of Nola Woodbury, and considered my own situation and the situations of different people I know. I loved that she and I both found inspiration from hymns as we walked. I hope that I too will use this time to reassess and make some good life changes. I definitely feel open to something new, while still holding on to things I hold dear.
I agree with Kortge that it must be common for us to sometimes feel betrayed by our body due to age or illness or some other taxing circumstance. I think of my mother who has emphysema. She has good days and bad days, and just walking to the mailbox or bringing in the groceries can be a challenge. I want to encourage her to walk to, to reclaim some of her strength and stamina. I just want for her to feel better. It seems we are all recovering from something.
Cellular Alchemy: Kortge writes that an unfocused mind can be like a loose cannon and encourages us to focus our mind away from stressful thoughts. She really nailed me there. Unhindered, my mind can focus on three or four separate issues at once, all of them stressful. It is almost guilty pleasure for me not to think about my husband or children on my walks. I also “meditate” away from finances and other pressing responsibilities. The second I return home, my family is going to bombard me with questions about breakfast or schedules or where some misplaced item can be found. Until then, my walk is my time.
Speaking of time, I increased mine today to 33 minutes by walking more along the outer edge of the track and parking farther away from it. Again, I am not pushing myself or over doing it. I think the very nature of a healing process is to go easy, isn’t it? The track is so close to my home that I envision myself walking that extra distance too eventually, but not today! It was a nice day for a walk…the warmest day yet. I will definitely give up the coat for a sweatshirt if the temperature is like this tomorrow. I walked in solitude today, but am thinking the park will fill up a little more next week when people begin exercising their New Years resolutions. I watched squirrels and crows play chase together. I loved how the early morning sky striped gray and yellow over our mountain on the horizon. An upbeat hymn played in my mind, “At the cross, at the cross, where I first saw the light, and the burden of my heart rolled away…” I love that I never have to search for a song. I think the Holy Spirit provides one for me.
My healing journey inspired by the book Healing Walks for Hard Times by Carolyn Scott Kortge
We don’t have internet out in the sticks where I live, so even though I am keeping track of things on my home computer daily, I will only be able to update when I am in town. If you are kind enough to follow my daily progress, don’t worry, I won’t skip any days of recording. It makes me very happy to think someone might enjoy reading about my journey.
The book is full of wonderful information and insight, and I am in no way summarizing it properly, or doing it justice. I am finding it to be a much needed guide on my healing journey. I started with page 18 this morning.
A Healthy Step: I read the account of Nola Woodbury, and considered my own situation and the situations of different people I know. I loved that she and I both found inspiration from hymns as we walked. I hope that I too will use this time to reassess and make some good life changes. I definitely feel open to something new, while still holding on to things I hold dear.
I agree with Kortge that it must be common for us to sometimes feel betrayed by our body due to age or illness or some other taxing circumstance. I think of my mother who has emphysema. She has good days and bad days, and just walking to the mailbox or bringing in the groceries can be a challenge. I want to encourage her to walk to, to reclaim some of her strength and stamina. I just want for her to feel better. It seems we are all recovering from something.
Cellular Alchemy: Kortge writes that an unfocused mind can be like a loose cannon and encourages us to focus our mind away from stressful thoughts. She really nailed me there. Unhindered, my mind can focus on three or four separate issues at once, all of them stressful. It is almost guilty pleasure for me not to think about my husband or children on my walks. I also “meditate” away from finances and other pressing responsibilities. The second I return home, my family is going to bombard me with questions about breakfast or schedules or where some misplaced item can be found. Until then, my walk is my time.
Speaking of time, I increased mine today to 33 minutes by walking more along the outer edge of the track and parking farther away from it. Again, I am not pushing myself or over doing it. I think the very nature of a healing process is to go easy, isn’t it? The track is so close to my home that I envision myself walking that extra distance too eventually, but not today! It was a nice day for a walk…the warmest day yet. I will definitely give up the coat for a sweatshirt if the temperature is like this tomorrow. I walked in solitude today, but am thinking the park will fill up a little more next week when people begin exercising their New Years resolutions. I watched squirrels and crows play chase together. I loved how the early morning sky striped gray and yellow over our mountain on the horizon. An upbeat hymn played in my mind, “At the cross, at the cross, where I first saw the light, and the burden of my heart rolled away…” I love that I never have to search for a song. I think the Holy Spirit provides one for me.
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