The Miracle of Every Step
“Walking mindfully on the earth, a grassy path, my feet make the promise to embrace the early morning and touch the peace of the present moment.” Thich Nhat Hanh.
Hello World! I have been busy learning and just being tongue tied about the wonder of Life. At the beginning of the summer, I was in the magical Kingdom of Sintra, Portugal with my beloved husband. We took a walk, right out of our tiny courtyard and through the woods, all the way from our cottage in Penedo to Sintra. For us this walk has quite a beautiful history; allow me to tell you the story. In the early 1970s, my husband’s adventurous and generous aunt Joan bought a house in the mountain village of Penedo. She sent us there on our honeymoon and we went back for her glorious 75th birthday party with our 3 children and all the family. She passed on at 76 and left us the house. And so, our eyes leak sometimes when we are there; feeling so thankful, so blessed and missing Joany so much. You can see how much we love to be there, to share it with friends, and to walk from our blue gate with the portugese tiles that say “Casa Joana,” across the ridges of a national park and arrive, hungry for lunch, in the cobblestoned old city of Sintra. During this year’s 2 hour magical walk in eucalyptus scented air, I told my husband a miraculous thing that I have learned as I have delved deeper into the science and miracles of Aging. “They” did a balance study. The subjects were 40 year olds and 70 year olds, all on balance discs and all were able to balance equally until the subjects were given a math problem and then the 70 year olds fell off. This is AMAZING! MRI imaging shows that when we are in our 40s and younger, balance is mostly controlled by our cerebellums; in other words, balance is reflexive, which means we can do 5 things at the same time and not lose our balance. We could carry the groceries and switch them from one side to the other while reaching into our pockets for the keys. Sound familiar? Sound like something you once could do but no longer can? WELL! I find this incredibly hopeful, incredibly miraculous. You see, as we age, balance becomes more and more controlled by the frontal lobe. In other words, we have to THINK about it. The wise ones through the centuries have been telling us to give our attention to the very task or person in front of us. Being present in the moment is the key to a happier and less stressful Life. Many of us (and I know that I am part of the “Many”) had trouble following this advice when we were younger because, we could do 5 things at once. What a miracle that our Biology..(some could say our divine blueprint), forces us to live more and more in the moment. This is the great gift of Aging. We can let every step be a mini walking meditation. Let yourself feel the miracle every time your heel hits the ground and the sensation of your foot as the weight of YOU is transferred from heel to toes and then on to the other foot; a massage in every foot step! Focus your awareness on the gift of the Earth on which you walk, giving thanks for the miracle of your amazing body! Attention on one step at a time really does make for a more serene, peaceful LIFE and also reduces your risk of falling. All is so good:)
“LOVE is every step. Walk with me” ~ Thich Nhat Hanh
