Flip-Flip Walk

I've mentioned in my blog before that I am in an "Artist Way" group, based on the Julia Cameron book, The Artist Way. Now we're working thru her book, Walking in This World. There are a few things she asks that you do daily and weekly. One is a 20 minute walk at least once a week.

I run daily, and I walk my girls (and by "girls" I obviously mean Zoe and Scout, my Siberian Huskies!) several times a week. But I NEVER walk alone.

So the other day, it was just a beautiful afternoon. The temperatures are finally coming down! It was a crispy, cool 87 degrees so I decided to go on my Flip Flop Walk. I opted to wear my flip-flops to remind myself this was a leisurely walk and had nothing to do really with physical excersize.

I went out my front door, and as I passed my side fence gate, Zoe and Scout both looked so sad that they hadn't been invited. I felt horrible. This must be what Moms feel like the first time they leave their kid with a sitter?!

But as I got down my street, those guilty feeling subsided and were replaced with thoughts of "Hm. I've never walked in my neighborhood alone in the 6 1/2 years I've lived here." I tried to really look around...at the trees, at the squirrels, at the sky...the stuff it seems that you should notice on an ARTIST WALK.

When I saw another person walking, I felt so oddly self-conscious. They must have been dying with curiousity all about why I was by myself, why I was in flip flops while walking, why I was walking at such a slow pace, why I didn't have any friends or pets, etc. I'm sure that is ALL they could think of!

I noticed that 2 of the 5 people I saw during my walk were talking on cell phones. Cell phones! That is SO not connecting with nature. And others had on headphones!!! Unbelievable.

Yes, for my 20 minute walk I was paranoid about how I looked to others for the first half, and then slamming my judgments on this disconnected world we live in. I hope I lighten up.... I know I will. It was just funny to have such a different perspective simply by wearing flip-flops and walking alone.