~ one of my most favorite pieces of electronic music ~
Until last year, I had the habit to go on foot a lot. I used to walk into the city or back when I needed to go there, or went for walks in the nature surrounding the place where I live. Walking used to be my favorite kind of exercise because it is gentle yet effective, it takes you out to the light and the fresh air and the nature, and it helps to elevate mood and makes you feel better inside your body. However, when I started taking my final exams, in the following months the constant learning stress gradually exhausted me so much that all kinds of movement became too exerting to engage in. On some days even breathing seemed to be too much. I had run off energy completely, and walking did not take place anymore.
The nasty thing about severe exhaustion is that it does not allow you to do the things anymore which actually are good for you and would help you revive your spirits under better circumstances. You are cut off from the ressources you usually rely on, and the only thing you can do it put yourself to bed and rest – which again is not a good idea if you suffer from inner tension that appears to be unbearable when you cannot distract yourself from it by some activity. So you end up restless, exhausted, and frustrated, and you are caught in that unhappy state of being and do not know how to get out of it.
In the past few weeks, I have tried different things to lower the tension and they helped a little, so that some energy has come back. I still feel shattered for several hours every day, but there are times when I can play the piano, go outside, read, or even work a little. Last Sunday, I felt not only that I needed some movement but actually was able to get some, and since the wheather was quite nice for once – not too cold and not rainy – I asked Peter to go for a walk with me.
We went up the hillside on one of my favorite trails. The lovely thing about Heidelberg is that you do not have to go very far to be in the middle of nature, however the not-so-lovely thing is that getting there usually involves going uphill for half an hour.
~ we met sheep 
~
~ branches and evening sky ~
It was lovely to see all of this again, because I am going to move away by the end of the month, and until then a lot of things have to be put into boxes and the new apartment has to be painted, so I had not expected to visit this trail once more before I leave.
When you have gone this far, you already know that you have gotten some nice exercise. It was still cold, but walking uphill was quite demanding so that we did not need to take overly warm clothing.
~ the husband ~
~ the wife ~
~ evening view of Heidelberg ~
Soon I will change this otherworldly timelessness for 20th century urban industrial culture, but I am looking forward to it because it will get me close to the husband. Also, I am not worried that I will find nice walking opportunities there – the new place is enchanted as well, you know? But in a completely different way, as you will see soon.
Do you like walking? Do you have a nice trail where you live?
Kath, thanks for the photos. I felt like I was there with you a little bit, on the walk. I know what you mean about walking being a gentle but effective activity. Not only is it exercise but it’s the fresh air and light that add more benefits. And if you are with someone, then you have companionship too.
I walk every day (or almost). I’m not an athlete about it. It has been something I do to sooth myself and usually do it between 20 and 40 minutes. Now my husband has joined me so that it’s become a daily routine that we share and it’s a nice time to connect with each other as well. We live in a quiet neighborhood on the edge of town so it’s street walks most evenings. In this neighborhood all the houses are on big lots so there are lots of gardens and trees. Our city and the region around it, is known for it’s nature all around, including trails parks hikes mountains, lakes rivers and the inlet ocean water ways. So we often get out on the trails too.
Since your last post, I’ve been thinking that routines are part of my foundation for dealing with tension. Daily routines that are simple and nourishing and usually involving movement in some way. Like walking.
I just remembered something I heard recently about soldiers after the (U.S.) civil war, that was before there was modern motorized travel. After the war many of them had to walk a long long way to get home. You know that war is a most terrible traumatic experience leaving people’s hearts and soul and minds quite shattered. So this source said that it was the long walk to get home where these soldiers processed and healed their psychological wounds. And of course those walks were mostly through nature.
Gel, thanks for your inspiring comment (again!) – now that you said it, it became clear to me once more how nurtuting routines are for me as well! It’s funny because those are things I know already (cognitively), but I seem to need several moments of insight to really have them reach a deeper level of consciousness. It is as if my mind was built in layers (like the little castle, you remember? – Of course you do!
), and with every moment of insight a deeper layer is reached, until the knowledge finally is securely settled.
I’m happy to be married to someone who has very similar needs as I have myself (I think I have mentioned before that Peter and I are both highly sensitive). We call ourselves “every day persons” because we really appreciate the familiarity and at-home feeling of well-known every day routines and activities. Regularity gives me a sense of safety because I know what’s coming and I don’t have to adjust to new things and think too much. Still, I don’t like to have an overly fix schedule of daily activities, rather time windows, because I’m limited in predicting how I’ll feel with certain activities (my moods and energy levels and appetite change often across the day, and from day to day, so I have to stay flexible to account for that).
Currently, I’m working on day structure and routines, such as accounting for eating a certain number of meals, getting some walking exercise, and playing the piano. Playing a musical instrument is another good example for routines because you have to practice the same things over and over again, hundreds or even thousands of time, until they come fluently. Some people wonder how I do it because they consider it boring, but for me it’s exactly the opposite. I find practicing very calming and comforting and also satisfying, and it gives me a sense of being part of a process that encompasses a large time span, so it somehow connects me with the course of life. Does that make sense?
Yes I remember the castle….makes sense what you say about “needing several moments of insight to really have them reach a deeper level of consciousness”…Totally get that. That’s because we are much more than our cognitive self.
I’m also around a cat and a bunch of chickens a lot and I notice how important routine is for them. Not to say we the same as chickens. But observing how fundamental routine is for them makes me understand it better. I think regular routines might get a bad rap, as being boring or antithetical to growth and creativity. But that is not my experience. With the chickens even the smallest changes can be stressful to them. Maybe it’s part of what I love about having them….their routine needs get me into daily routines too, just in how I have to care for them.
And your second paragraph is exactly like me….the value of daily routines to feel safe and yet also nested with in the structure or routines, being flexible and responsive to changing needs. In my dance work one of my favorite forms which reflects this is what we called Structures for Improvisation, A minimal framework that creates the space and shared focus, with in which the inner impulses to move creatively flow.
Yup I remember that you and Peter are both “everyday people” as you’ve described. My husband and I are that way too. That makes for a lot of harmony in our home and between us. Such a treasure isn’t it?
And your last paragraph about music…Yes Yes Yes…it makes sense! Beautifully expressed. I’m wondering ~ when you get into your repetition practices with music do you find that time slips away? or that you lose track of time or relax into a timeless mode? I think in our fast paced modern lifestyle that happens less and less. But I think it is necessary for well-being to have shifts in time like that. The main way I experience that is when I’m weeding, or scything, which I haven’t been doing because of winter.
Yes it’s sad that routines have such a bad reputation – being a killer of creativity etc. They can be if they are too tight, but I rather experience the opposite: that having routines enables me to function better and be *more* creative, because they allow my mind to levitate. I think I’ve had some of my best musical and scientific ideas while being on a walk or taking a shower.
Also, what you wrote about dance improvisation based on a minimal framework of structures very much corresponds to musical improvisation, which usually rests upon a chord pattern you use as a frame of harmonical reference for your improvisation. There’s one musical genre that works without any structure, namely free jazz, but that movement exhausted itself after a rather short time because when everything is allowed, you remain with chaos and arbitrariness (and this is how free jazz sounds like 
). Personally, I find it more fascinating and also more challenging and therefore aesthetically satisfying to invent new and unusal variations of known things, and tie them together in an original way.
I very much liked what you wrote about being with your animals. I think we can learn a lot from them! Routines are how nature works – inrepetitive cycles – so having routines in my life makes me feel to live in congruence with nature more. And probably the sensitivity we both have make us even more reliant on having structures and routines in life. I remember that my mom told me how I got very irritated by changes as a child. So, she would be careful to keep changes small. For example, when we met new people, she arranged the encounter in a familiar environment, and when we went to a new environment, she always accounted for a familiar person to be by my side (often herself).
When I play the piano, I often lose track of time, at least when I don’t have something on my schedule in the following hours. I find this state very easy and soothening, because most often I have a clock running in my head and that stresses me.
Love it! Looking at those picks is like being in a fairytale! Woods!!! I used to walk a lot while living in the city or bike, I barely used the car, but since I moved to my bf (suburbs) I don’t walk practically at all! This is so sad… so on sundays I do go to the city for a walk (if the weather is good of course), I make it from cafe to the market and back and usually meet some friends. This is a kind of meditation and it does help me a lot.
I’ll be a city walker as well soon! It’s okay as long as I get myself out of the house!
I’ll miss the fairytale woods though, but fortunately there also is some nice nature around with the new place, it’s a little further away but the hubby has a car. 
Great pictures! So glad you felt up to going out and had a great adventure w/ Peter
. Y’all seem so sweet together.
I LOVE walking and just being out in the fresh air. There are trails near. I’m waiting for the weather to get a bit warmer so we can be outside longer and more often
Can’t wait to see your new place of residence.
Katie
You will soon, Katie! I’m going there next week for painting, and then I’ll have the chance to already take some pictures. Moving will take place in the week afterwards.
I can’t wait for the weather to become warmer! Last week we had snow again and it’s still cold, so I can’t bear being outside for long.
It’s very nice to see you and your husband Kath! Beautiful trails. I used to spend a lot of time with my husband, but obviously with two kids around and my daily activities, there is no such “quiet” leisure time… lol. Hope you find a good walking trail at new location!
Thank you, Nami! I hope you’ll find some quiet time again!
I totally understand how much it helps you to be outside. I am kind of in a non-running-funk (usually my favorite exercise) and simply cannot seem to motivate myself to just hit the trails. At the same time I notice how much less resilient I am and how much more the little (stress) things in life get to me… Hopefully, the upcoming spring and the longer daylight hours will help me to get my groove back. I cannot wait to see how you explore your new city. As intmidating it may be at times, there is always something refreshing in a new place.
I’m sorry to hear that, Anne, because I know how much running means to you! I’ve read that this winter was unusually dark in Germany, so probably that’s part of why I also felt so sluggish and low-energized and had a hard time motivating myself to do things that are actually good for me. Hoping for the spring to make things better!
I’m really looking forward to the new place! Painting is going to take place next week and moving in the week afterwards. I’m moving to Cologne which I have to admit I’d never have considered as a place for living voluntarily
but the hubby lives there, and the new apartment is really nice and located in an area that’s not too big-city-like. I’ll take some photos soon so you can get an idea of the place! 
Kath, it’s nice to see your smile in the photo! I get real uncomfortable in my skin after a week of not exercising, so the hiking photos really got me itchy to go outside. The problem is it’s already starting to feel like Summer here at Houston (We had an extremely mild Winter, it pretty much felt like Spring the whole 3-4 months), the bugs are out buzzing around, so hiking in the woods is not the most pleasant thing to do now… Hope your move is a smooth one!
Ha, I have the opposite problem over here – it’s still too cold to enjoy being outside! We should exchange some heat for cold and we’d both be more comfortable!
Walking is my favorite form of exercise! I wear a pedometer and am always trying to maximize my daily steps!!! It is so healthy for you. That trail is lovely!
I’ve never owned a pedometer but I guess it’s fun to see how many steps you have taken in a day!
I love walking and also cycling but I don’t do either as much as I used to. When I lived in Edinburgh we were very central and walked almost everywhere except when we went out of town. I have been missing that lately. Getting about with a small child slows me down and make long walks harder (and cycling even harder still). I live near a walking track which is not pretty but is away from roads at least – we have a nice walk that takes us to the lake which I love esp when the geese have goslings who are fluffy and cute.
Someone to walk with is always nice – glad you and peter get out – that heidelberg walk looks beautiful and at least you get to go downhill at the end (I guess). and your sheep are so different to ours that at first look I thought them goats (or are they in the second photo)
I actually thought of them as goats as well at first, but a friend of mine told me that they are a kind of sheep.
By now walking takes place in industrial-urban areas, as I’ve moved by the end of March, but I still enjoy it.
Beautiful views. I hope your days are becoming less stressful!
Thank you, Julie! Less stressful by now fortunately, but not without stress.
Dear Kath, I was talking to some people about the value of ‘getting in the FLOW’. This is different for everybody, it’s i think important to have an outlet where ‘you are lost in it’. Like gel said, do you get lost in the music? I LOVE to walk, i have two dogs, that’s my FLOW it’s a time away from thought. I think when people ‘know’ lots about cognition, I can get lost in the academic process, and possibly forget about the doing. Stress relief is written about alot , as individuals we are soo different in how to ‘get lost’ and away from judgement of ourselves, and expectations of ourselves. I believe life is so fast paced, we can forget the simple BEAUTIFUL things like sharing a beautiful nature walk. Thank you for reminding me..I am grateful…lol
Flow is something I sometimes experience since I’ve picked up piano playing. I also sometimes have it when I’m sunken into something interesting to read or a good conversation. I like that feeling to lose track of time, it’s directly opposite to time which is obsessively divided into units (like it was before and still is sometimes, but not most of the time anymore, fortunately). Fast-paced life is certainly not for me! And I think that’s a good thing, although it can be difficult to maintain in everyday life. I think having animals or a garden that live by their own time are a good reminder of the natural flow of lifetime.
I love walking, but being in the city, I try to avoid crowds by walking at ‘odd hours’ or just steering clear from commercial areas. Luckily, I don’t like to window shop, but put me in a supermarket or a greenmarket, then I’m in trouble.
Crowds are so stressful! I usually listen to music when walking in the city, to keep the noise at bay.
So glad you are up and out. I try to walk every day. Now that we moved to town, the wilderness isn’t close but there are some bike paths that are great and don’t come close to highways very often. xxoo
That sounds good! I’ve been taking walks among abandoned industry sited lately (which exist plentifully around here) and that has its own special charme.
There are a forest and heath not far away, but I haven’t been there yet. When it gets a little warmer we’ll go there. 