Walking to work
After dealing with a period of depression I decided to go back to my roots and the way things were. And one of the transitions was walking to work again in the morning. Now walking to work is a privilege I know this. At the same time, it is tremendously time-consuming. I lose about two hours of my day walking, where I could save that by driving to work or taking public transport. But the time vs cost reward is so worth it and here is what I get out by adding 2 hours of me to my commute.
First, I get fresh morning air and sunlight / natural elements like rain and cold along with scorching sunlight. Sometimes when I walk to work, I have to wear full-body wet weather gear as the rain is so heavy, and sometimes I wear just short shorts and sunblock. I get time outside, and that is super grounding to my ego and desires. I have to let go of urgency because I can't rush getting to work. When I'm late I have to instantly accept it and start walking. So, the first thing I get from walking to work is acceptance; be it accepting the weather conditions to accepting time and how much or little I have.
Reading a book can teach you something that took a single person a lifetime to learn
When I walk to work, I get to read. Yes, I walk and read at the same time, doing this I can pump out a book in a week or two. I'm learning and opening my mind to new ideas and thoughts, along with different ideas and opinions. Reading a book in the early hours of the day and in the late hours of the evening is a wonderful way to spend your time and unwind. Reading a book can teach you something that took a single person a lifetime to learn and understand, and you get to take that knowledge and condense it into a week or weekend of reading. Walking to work, gives me time to read and learn.
Something I don't always have my book up to my face when walking to work. And I drop what I'm reading when I have an idea or thought. When I walk to work without any other agender apart from getting to a destination, my subconscious mind can wonder. With my mind constantly wandering for two plus hours every day, I can come up with new ideas and also reflect on my learnings and current situation, be it good or bad. Walking to work is my shower, my holiday, my car ride that lets a sudden thought jump into your head. But for me instead of it being only once a year on holiday, 15 minutes in the shower or half an hour in traffic which along with it comes concentration and tasks. I get to think in a slow peaceful manner. And my emotions and subconscious mind thank me for it with little ideas and constructive thoughts.
Last but not least, yes you knew this one was coming, I get my body moving. Fitness, health. I get all of that. I'm not going to bore you with this category, but yes walking and moving your body in any way for an extended period of time is good for you. And I do that for plus two hours every single day.
Not having the luxury of time
Now not everyone can walk to work. We all have things that could stop us, not having the luxury of time, or having too many responsibilities. To not being able to afford to waste time when you could be doing something else like working or spending that time with people you love. It could be geographical, and you live too far away from work. Or you might be physically impaired and unable to walk. Or the simple aspect that the city you live in wasn't designed for walking. For me, I can say the city I live in is definitely was not designed for walking, everything is spaced out. I'm pretty sure I'm going to get lung cancer from all the car pollution I breath in. Let me put it this way, I started wearing a mask outside pre-pandemic it's so bad. But I can't ignore all the benefits walking to work gives me and helps with my physical and mental health.
There is something about giving yourself time to move a little slower in this world and it's so freeing. I just can't see a downside to it. Time and money are all subjective and made up, but being in the moment, and taking my sweet time in that moment; all to myself, well that's priceless.