Why I Take Evening Walks

This was my view as I started my walk a couple of evenings ago. There is something special about going out at the end of the day and just decompressing. I know a lot of people prefer to walk in the morning. But, generally, that does not work for me. Once I have gotten up and had my breakfast, I am ready to get into what has to be done. I think that is because usually when I go to bed at night, I have already pre-planned what I need to do the next day. As a result, I wake up with a mental to-do list that I want to get checked off. If I were to walk in the morning, that would just be another thing to check off of my list and would not have the positive effects that my evening walks have. Usually when I walk I am listening to some of my favorite music and have my phone handy so that I can take pictures if something catches my eye. It is a time when I feel like I can begin to relax from all the things that I have been doing during the day. This is especially helpful when I have had a stressful one. The other night when I headed out to walk and looked up and saw the sky in front of me flanked by the silhouettes of the trees, I couldn't help be feel a real sense of peace. And I thought, too, about the blessing of having made it through another day. This brought to mind the cycles of days and seasons, and, even the moon. So much of our lives often feel chaotic, especially in this Covid-19 year. So the these unchangeable cycles that are ever present parts of our lives are really comforting. Jean-Baptiste Alphonse Karr in 1849 coined the familiar phrase "The more things change, the more they stay the same." If we spend time trying to get away from the stresses of a given day or times, I think we can appreciate this phrase as explaining the foundation to life. There are always certain things in our lives that are predictable even when so much else doesn't seem to be. So when I head out in the evening for a walk, I can appreciate the darkening skies and the peace of a sunset and the twinkling of the first stars. Indeed, I have gotten through another day, and tomorrow will take care of itself for now.