“The only way to understand a land is to walk it. The only way to drink in its real meaning is to keep it firmly beneath one’s feet … Only the walker can form the wider view.” – Sinclair McKay
walking
Flaneuse – 7/30
“Walk as if you are kissing the Earth with your feet.” – Thich Nhat Hanh
Flaneuse – 6/30
Today was a good day to walk. I’m making time in my day to walk. I’ve been sitting for far too long. I’ve read somewhere that sitting it like the new smoking – no good for our bodies.
But I’m of a more positive persuasion rather than being scared into taking action. I’d prefer run ( well in this case walk) towards the benefits of adopting new habits rather than the bad.
Reading an article in The Guardian about the benefits of walking and talking for our mental health, I learned nothing new but it did help as a reminder.
“You’re walking rhythmically together,” says Neuroscientist Shane O’Mara “and there are all sorts of rhythms happening in the brain as a result of engaging in that kind of activity, and they’re absent when you’re sitting. One of the great overlooked superpowers we have is that, when we get up and walk, our senses are sharpened. Rhythms that would previously be quiet suddenly come to life, and the way our brain interacts with our body changes.”
Flaneuse – 5/30
“Outside long enough, I lose the contours of my body and become part of something larger… I lose track of my own inhibitions and begin to wonder just what I might be able to do if I allowed myself the full scope of my potential.” – Camille T. Dungy
Flaneuse – 4/30
Out walking earlier than anticipated today, due to other commitments, the sky was blue and the sun was shining. I felt like I was walking taller, feeling the benefits of the practice, spine straighter. Also I was noticing more, being aware of my surroundings. Flowers, leaves and berries.
Blackberries take me back to childhood and going blackberry picking with friends. But never managing to reach home with any of our harvest as I would always eat them beforehand. Not today, came home with a cup full as well as a few scratches along my arms and plan to make a coulis with them. Of course some blackberries didn’t make it home as I had to test their sweetness mid-pick. Juicy loveliness worth the scratches.
Flaneuse – 3/30
“In. Out. Deep. Slow. Calm. Ease. Smile. Release. Present moment. Wonderful moment.”
― Thich Nhat Hanh, How to Walk
Flaneuse – 2/30
I walk and think. Sometimes about my worries and concerns. Sometimes about my day ahead. But always, after a while, I get to the point where I’m not thinking or analysing . I’m being in the walking. I’m present in the rhythm of putting one foot in front of another. My projections of self fall away and I’m just a body in motion. Here. #wewalk
Flaneuse – 1/30
” One of the kindest things we can do for ourselves is to go for a good walk. ” – Adam Ford
A commitment to me
I’m going through my days pissed off. Wasting my time comparing myself to others and their success and finding myself wanting. Maybe I’m coming down after a high. Maybe I’m burnt out after the summer’s ups and downs.
What I do know is that when I get like this, and it’s nothing new, I have to withdraw and focus on me. Make self-care top of the list. Self-care for me includes creativity. It’s also about trying to find the balance between going into my cave and staying visible, sharing my work.
There’s a part of me that wonders what kind of work I’d produce if no one was watching. If I kept every brush stroke and every word to myself. What would I create.
I’m taking Painting the Feminine again this year with Connie Solera. This time last year an anonymous lady gifted me a space on the course for which I’m eternally grateful. This year, not dripping in money but we have enough to pay for this course as I know it’s nectar for my soul. This year, I plan to keep my creations to myself until the student exhibition at the end as an experiment to see how I do create in private.
Over here, I’m launching a new project around walking. Flaneur/ Flaneuse as a concept has been with me for years, the act of walking in the city, aimlessly observing life. I plan to walk for the next 30 days, take an image and accompany this with some text. I refer back to my commitment to self-care. Walking is another life source for me along with nature and the sea. Walking makes me feel expansive and positive and unbreakable.
More to follow as the 30 days unfold.
Anyway each day, gonna post my adventures here as a means of keeping me accountable as well as getting me to blog more too. Win-win.
Living Wild Studios 