Day 135: The 3 O'clock Walk

There’s a little routine I like to do each afternoon. I call it the “3 O’clock Walk.” Two hours past 1 and two hours before 5, I divide the afternoon right down the middle, exit my desk, and start to steppin’.

I love my 3 o’clock walk. The walk around the block. The walk along the trees. Among the leaves. The walk to clear my mind. To see the sun. To smell the grass. To hear the birds say “hi.” To whistle at the clouds aimlessly floating by on a powder-blue sky. To watch the cars slinking past, oblivious to it all.

I love my 3 o’clock walk, the time when I put my feet into motion. Put sunflower seeds in mouth and spit them on the sidewalk passing by. Put my arms in gear and my brain in park. Put my ears on alert and my nose on detail. Leave the chatter behind. Put the stress on hold. Give the expectations a rest. The change in scenery does a man good.

Some days I walk alone. Some days I walk with a friend. Some days I hum. Some days I go blank. Some days I fixate and regret. But I walk and walk and walk. Sunlight can't penetrate walls, and wind can’t breathe through closed windows. And all the action happening outside the windows in front of my desk bears no sound. I need the 3 o’clock walk. I need to participate. I need to engage. I need the elements. The activity. The peace. I need the pace slowed down. I need a path with different texture. I need to rearrange. 

I love my 3 o’clock walk.