My work schedule back in April combined with the onset of Spring weather conspired to get me out for frequent short walks sans destination for the first time in quite a while this year, and although both Springtime and that particular schedule have long since departed, I've kept going for walks whenever time and temperature have permitted. It's relaxing and free and gives me a lot of time to just be in my head and contemplate my next metaphorical steps, as I'm taking my next literal ones...
Anyway, it amazed me when I first started this new little habit that I could find these quiet, quaint little tree-lined suburban back-streets directly off of Bloor/Danforth, one of the largest streets in Toronto, the fourth largest city in North America and largest in all of Canada! Little neighbourhoods where people care about what their lawns and houses look like, the noise of traffic and humanity is muted until it's next-to-nothing and where everything gives off, at least the illusion of, peace and tranquility. Right in my own back-yard, so to speak!
I guess I never noticed before, or perhaps I was just never at a place in my life where I'd stop to care about this sort of thing...it's interesting to me because as I literally am stopping to smell the occasional flower along the way, it's giving me all the time I need to just appreciate the world we live in...not just the big amazing things, but the small, fragile and mundane bits of civilization that maybe get taken too much for granted.
Or maybe I'm just turning into an old man who likes to take walks. Either way. I think I'll go for one right now! See ya!
"I literally am stopping to smell the occasional flower along the way." 8-)
ReplyDeleteThat's one thing I miss about living in T.O., I used to walk almost everywhere when I lived downtown. Even when I was still living with my parents out at VP and St Clair I could still walk to Taylor Creek park and walk through the park systems all the way into downtown.
Ironically, out in the country almost nothing is within reasonable walking distance so you are almost always driving. Although luckily I live in hiking path heaven (Uxbridge Township was named The Trail Capital of Canada by Industry Canada) so we can easily drive somewhere to have a nice walk... 8-P