Mindful walk around Arthur Seat ...

Windy... Cold.... having to calm down the nerves caused by the thought ' I am late...I am gonna be late...I am - AGAIN- gonna be late'... Very heavy on me this thought... I hardly been able to connect with the beauty of the morning...crisp, clean air, lovely, amazing green on Arthur Seat....I could see this beauty only when I became consciously aware of  my unawareness and cling to the thought....

In the end, I wasn't massively late...just a few minutes...but the fight with time... my struggle with time...I never win it... Am I judged through 'time'? I used not too care too much about time...but somehow lately it was induced in me a guilt about not being able to do things in the time frame that others expect from me, a frame that for some reasons, it does not match my internal rhythm....I wonder if should (or better maybe - could) let this thought go....maybe in professional life the time restrictions have a sense, but in my private life..if I am late...so what? At least I am there...as Byron Katie would say 'no minute too early, no minute too late' ...just at the right moment....
maybe my 'late- ness ' is an opportunity for the  people I meet to deal with their own prejudices regarding someone else's lateness...so I am actually helping them to get in touch with something very deep....

Lonely...

Mmm...then we started our mindful walk under the cloudy sky...

We first met the old volcano...

The old volcano...

...followed by a gentle climb...

views from the top

Then we started our incredibly challenging walk downhill... so much strain on the knees....

I discovered to be much easier for me to be mindful - focused and calm- while I am walking uphill...and so much more distracted when going downhill...strange...

We stopped at the wee St.Margaret's loch for some food ...and even if it was bitter cold, I must say there is nothing better than the shared food.

On our way back we walked through Hunter's Bog, something that looked easy and gentle at the beginning, and to the end it nearly left us breathless ... but happy and victorious....

And that's us....happy and in one piece at the end of our mindful walk... yay...

Happy walking!

Note: this event took place on 2nd of May

Mindful Walking - How to

How to - Mindful Walking

Today's walk @The Botanics

With a day off, sunny morning and after a good night rest, this day is for myself and only for myself....
I started with a great breakfast, and then a wee run to join Roger for his usual weekdays 1pm mindful walk at the Botanics...

Beautiful sunshine, light breeze with a sharp vein of cold, nature at it's best....

After the mindful walk the weather lured me into more 20 minutes of sitting meditation....a wee squirrel made me follow her and this is how I found the most beautiful place at the Botanics: Emma's Bench...

A lovely warming sun, protected of cold, and near the point where green, soil and dead branches meet and define the essence of life...

After such a lovely day, entirely spent for myself, I simply can't stop smiling....