My mornings these days almost always start with a several-mile walk, because body movement and nature are two things experts always recommend for mental and physical health.
(And also because I actually do like walking outside!)
My phone’s camera roll is filled with pictures of the interesting and beautiful things I see when I walk, so this is an easy prompt.
I love that nature is always changing; even when I walk on the same paths, the view is rarely the same twice.
I don’t think I would probably log an impressive miles-per-hour speed on these walks because I am forever stopping to look at (and photograph) bugs, flowers, trees, water droplets, animals, streams, lichens, and more.
I often post these photos in my Instagram stories, so follow me there if you want to experience the morning walk scenery with me. 🙂
(I’m thefrugalgirl on Instagram.)
I’m curious, Kristen, how early do you go for your walks? I love the idea of a long morning walk, but adding one more thing to the morning routine would mean I’d need to get up quite a bit earlier… And I also like sleep. And do you ever feel unsafe walking by yourself? Those are the two things holding me back, even though I do live someplace considered to be safe.
I usually go shortly after I wake up, around 7:00 am. I don’t have any early morning commitments at this point (no school! I’m self-employed!), so I figured I might as well walk every day.
Regarding the safety thing: there is a tiny risk of something dangerous happening to me as I walk alone. But it is a very small risk; the vast majority of violence done to women is done by someone the woman knows. So, stranger danger is not a huge concern for me. Also, I’m in a safe area, it’s daylight, and the places I’m walking are not terribly remote.
If let the tiny percentage of danger keep me from walking, then there’s a 100% chance of me missing out on the benefits of walking out in nature. For me, that’s an easy choice!
But, your comfort levels may not be what mine are. Everyone has to decided where their sweet spot is.
Morning: A time of day when the alarm clock forces me to wake up in the dark and my need for a paycheck forces me get up out of bed.
Can you tell I’m not a morning person? I appreciate a soft, cool, gorgeous morning as much as anyone, but mornings as a rule are not my thing. Maybe when I retire some day…
pre-script: I clicked my bookmark by happenstance (I don’t find subscribing helpful for most things; inbox overwhelm is real) and am so pleased to find new words here!!
Morning. I almost always see 4:42 a.m. I don’t always rise then, but I practically never lie abed. Morning is a great time to get a shower and ideally an hour to myself before other people need me.
I love these nature pictures – they are so inspiring!
The mornings are the most important part of my day. I wake much earlier than my three children, take care of the cats, and then sit down at my desk with a hot cup of coffee. The early mornings are when I fill my notebooks with all of my worries to let them go for the day, and then turn my energy towards creating something that’s just for me: my blog. I am so happy to be a morning person!
I love my early mornings. Only time they are hard is if I have an unsettled sleep the night before.
I used to walk with a friend on weekdays and extra long walks Tuesday and Thursday as we strength trained on Mon/We’d./Fri. I miss that time and conversation. But everything has its season.
I listen to an awesome weekend morning show on their app between 6-9.
I crave the quiet of the early mornings to recharge and frequently like Katie to write or compose my day.
Since Christmas and an uptake of the various variants, weather and personal circumstances I have been on my rower every morning.I put my 30 minutes in along with stretching, balance and strength training. I know myself and that’s the only time I’ll do it.
The benefit is I pray and meditate on the rower. I tell my people let me know your concerns I will pray for you or meditate if that’s your jam. I wait as I start the row,frequently people will come to mind, the row begins, the prayers pour out.
Your picture of the bee on the pink flower is beautiful!!