My New Year’s Resolution for 2023 was to get out for a walk in nature every day. There have been a few missed days, but only a few. It’s a New Year’s Resolution that made it through to the end of the year and is now an ingrained habit.
Mostly my walk is taken during my lunch break and involves heading along the local riverside path. I am currently dogless and this does mean that I get a few odd looks. I am not sure why walking without a dog is considered so unusual by some people. I am also questioned as to whether I get bored “doing the same walk every day”. The thing is, it’s never the same walk! Of course, geographically it is, although I may vary how far I go, but the walk itself is never the same. The weather, the seasons, the wildlife, the flow of the river and the people I meet all change. There’s even the construction of a new footbridge over the river that I have been observing with interest. Any fans of #WildflowerHour will know that searching for flowering plants can add an extra dimension to any walk, particularly when those flowers are in short supply. Mind you, those looks I get for not having a dog are nothing compared to those I receive when I am spotted on my knees on a roadside verge taking a photo of a daisy in the rain!
As a convert to the daily walk, I urge you to get out when you can and see how your walk changes every day, even if your route doesn’t. The physical and psychological benefits are addictive – not something I ever experienced when in my brief foray into the world of jogging!
Having worked in various roles in the environmental and sustainability sector during my career, I am fortunate to say that I also appreciate that it’s never the same walk in a working day either. There are, inevitably, mundane tasks and a degree of repetitive work but there is also variety. Just like my riverside walk though, it can also feel like I end up going from A to B and back to A some days and I am sure this is a common amongst many of us working in this field. The global challenges that we are facing are difficult and our contributions can feel insignificant, even pointless. Our walks are all slightly different but there are many of us trying to go in the same direction. Progress is being made, even if it is slower than we would like and we need to appreciate the daisies in our working lives!
So, as well as walking in nature, perhaps we should make it our 2024 Resolution to support each other as we navigate the journey to a more sustainable world.