A Walk To Remember

No! This has nothing to do with the movie or the novel by Nicholas Sparks. But it has everything to do with a walk I went on today.

I tell you, it was a remarkable walk. Not because something exceptional happened. It was remarkable simply because of the experience I had, all by myself with Nature, within the amazing sixty minutes the walk lasted.

It’s Fall here and so it gets quite cold and windy most times but the sun shines sometimes, giving the day a balmy warmth to it. I’d been staying indoors for days on end and I was already getting restless so I decided to go on a stroll. Before setting out, I stepped on to the front porch to take the day’s temperature so I could choose my clothing wisely and know how many layers to pile on.  It was one of those balmy days, with a little chill in the air. A good day to step out. Or so I thought. I figured, if it gets cold, I’d break into a brisk walk and that should warm me up and shake off the chill and if it gets too warm, I’d easily take off my cardigan and manage holding it without having to worry about bundling layers of shrugged-off clothing along on my walk.

So I said goodbye to Chloe the cute little dog at home and got on my jolly way. One thing I’ve come to like about America is the skyline. I love to sky-gaze and I believe the sky is beautiful everywhere but it seems to be more so here because Fall has painted the trees reds and yellows and the beautiful blend of the trees against the backdrop of the sky is remarkable. This is especially so in the early mornings, when the sky is just yawning to let the sun out, right before the full-on sunset and when dusk begins to set in. It was a beautiful day, balmy with the soft blush of the sun and the scenery was a good mix of ordered suburbia in a hand-lock with nature. I had no clear destination, I just wanted to go as far as I could.

Ten minutes into my walk, the first signs of trouble showed up. My legs started to itch really badly. I’m talking about the entire span of my legs, especially behind my knees. I tried to scratch it subtly as I walked along, I didn’t want to look suspicious, scratching away on the roadside. But it seemed to grow worse. At first I tried to ignore it but you know, when you gotta, you just gotta. I stopped a bit off the roadside and gave my legs a good scratch-down. I could care less at this point what people thought. With some relief restored, I continued on my way. Shortly after, I noticed that I could see my breath in front of me. The chill was creeping up on me. My fingers were getting really cold so I pulled on my gloves (never leave home without them!) At this point I had walked for over thirty minutes and I was beginning to shiver. My eyes were watery from the cold air and I felt like I was going to throw-up because my muffler was wrapped so tightly around my neck. I made a wise decision at this point. Oh yeah! I turned around and headed back home.

The journey back was more treacherous. I was walking directly against the cold wind and the itch returned. I was so cold that, at a point, I looked up to the gently smiling sun and in that moment, I longed for the evil grin of her Lagos sister. I was shivering in my very thick cardigan. My head was aching. My nose was numb. My fingers were almost frozen. And the way home seemed so long ahead. All I wanted to do was curl up on the roadside and sleep off. I walked so briskly, I was almost out of breath. The only thing that stopped me from breaking into a run was because I’d be more vulnerable to the cold as a result. I did not regret my decision to walk, not at all. I just appreciated the wisdom to gi back home more.

When I saw the gate to the estate in the distance, my heart did a crazy alanta-inspired tap-dance. I’m sure my legs would have broken into the dance if there weren’t so eager to get home and my lips would have broken into songs if there weren’t so numb. I walked even more briskly till I got into the house and the welcoming warmth moistened my eyes (or maybe they were wet from the cold wind). I whispered a thank-you to Heaven for good heating systems.

As I sat there, thawing in the soothing warmth, I thought about people out there who don’t have a home to run to; people without a warm escape from the cold; people who are homeless and make the sidewalks, street corners or under the bridge, their home; people who don’t run from the cold but embrace it. And I just wondered, how do they do it? How do they survive it? I don’t have answers to these questions or a whole lot of others but I simply want to share a life-lesson I learnt on my walk. That experience you hate and feel like you can never survive is actually someone else’s daily reality out there. So be grateful for what you like and be patient with what you don’t.

And most importantly and especially as the festive season begins to near, take time to pay attention and acknowledge the people around you who might be going through a challenging reality which you have experienced. And if you can extend a hand of relief, by all means do!

 

P.S. Winter is coming! Pray for me that I don’t freeze. Hahahaha. I’m sure I’ll be fine.

Cheers!