walks and solitude and creativity

Spent a few hours Sunday afternoon in what will be our new neighbourhood, exploring the park system. I definitely need to take a compass with me, and find a Toronto parks/trails map; I was trying to find a route up to Edwards Gardens but kept getting sidetracked...too many interesting trails to explore. Ended up walking about 25 km (over 15 miles) over hilly terrain.



While I love walking with Jeff or with friends, it's a different experience to go out walking alone. I'm starting to opt to leave my iPod behind, not just for safety reasons but also because I find I enjoy the experience more that way.

Listening to what's going on around me, for example. In downtown Toronto, this was mainly the sound of traffic. But on my walk, I could hear...BIRDS! And the sound of the creek nearby. The rustling of leaves. Those of you who already live within easy reach of this kind of area may be jaded about this sort of thing, but I was astounded and delighted by the fact that we're going to be living a 20 minute walk away from this kind of forested area.

And instead of inhaling exhaust fumes from the traffic from the Gardiner Expressway, I'll be able to do my running and walking smelling GREEN things. It's going to be quite the change for me. My lungs are probably going to go into shock.



Another reason I'm starting to not bring my iPod on walks: it gives me room to think. Sounds odd, I know, but I'm enjoying the chance to reflect, to think about what I've done and what I want to do next (both little and big). I also get all kinds of inspiration for my writing during these walks; the space to think, physical activity and the change of scenery make all the difference.

I also find I value my solitude more and more over time. While I greatly enjoying hanging out with friends and family, I find that if I don't get enough time by myself on a regular basis, I start getting restless, bitchy.

Then my writing suffers.

So does Jeff. :-)

When I was much younger, I used to seek out company all the time; the bigger the crowd, the better. Why on earth should I want to spend time alone when I could do it with friends?

I feel differently now. Not exactly sure why. Could have something to do with life experience and age, could be because I'm more self-confident, more comfortable with who I am. I'll still seek out other people's company and enjoy it, but it's because it's my choice, not because there's "nothing better to do."

Fortunately Jeff is of a similar mindset, and we don't get insulted when one of us sometimes wants to do something or go somewhere without the other person; we've never been one of those couples who always seem to be joined at the hip. I recently had a conversation with a friend who said that this was one of the main reasons his relationship has stayed strong over all that time.

Considering his marriage has lasted nearly 30 years, I figure this piece of marital advice is worth paying attention to.

Fun link:

20 Questions (thanks, Jeff): Pretty impressive. We played this last night with my nieces, who thought up objects like "fence post" and "piece of chalk". In both cases, the program guessed the correct answer in less than 20 questions.

ELEVEN DAYS.

May 2005 comments: Read Blatherchat | Post in Blatherchat | Livejournal comments