Spring has sprung.
We're now well into April, and a few weeks into Spring. I know that some places, the winter weather is hanging on for dear life - my heart goes out to those still buried under blizzards and snow. We're still having nasty Winter storms here on the Washington Coast, though they're loosing strength, and I'm making the most of our sunny days.
Even in the places where winter's hanging on for dear life.
But even if you're stuck in a place where Winter simply refuses to let go, little changes are happening. You might have to focus a little harder or look a little more carefully to see the differences from one day to the next.
You might have to look a little harder.
If you look, the snow doesn't last quite as long. The storms aren't as intense. You have more sunny days. Even though we started this morning out with sun, and we've got a lot of rain and wind only a couple hours into my Monday, I dashed out to get my walk in before the storm hit, and noticed how many yards are full of grape hyacinth and bluebells. The barely alive grass is punctuated with tons of brilliant blue, white and indigo. We've got hummingbirds starting to zip around, and the crow population isn't as visible as they turn to nesting.
Use your outdoor workout to see changes.
When you're out on your run or walk for the next several days, see how many different changes you can notice.
Make it a game.
If you walk 6 days a week, you can get most of your senses in, and focus on just one per day. On Tuesday, keep track of how many new flowers you can find. Wednesday, make it all about what smells you notice that weren't there a week or two ago. Out here on the coast, the air smells a little different during the height of the different seasons. Right now, I step out my front door and get a nose-full of a very sweet beachy smell.
Pick one of your senses, and track all the little changes you notice.
For the next week, assign each day of your walk or run workout to a sense. I actually use this exercise with my coaching clients in our 10-Week Tune Up, to get them in touch with their senses. It gets you engaged with your surroundings, and helps you notice more, while your workout goes much faster, because you're not focused on how many more miles, blocks or minutes you have to keep going.
Journal the changes you notice.
When you get home, jot down all the changes you noticed on your trek that day. You've exercised parts of your brain that you don't often work out just by focusing on that sense for the day; you can now strengthen your memory by actively remembering what you noticed on your walk. If you'd like to add just a little extra "pop" to your brain workout, spend a moment in gratitude for each of the changes you've noticed that signal winter is on it's way out and the cycle of life has begun again.
Your workout goes by much faster.
As I mentioned above, your workout goes by faster when you're focused outside your body. Check in periodically with your physical body to ensure that you're not injuring yourself in anyway, and to make sure that you're actually working your muscles and not meandering (though a lot can be said for a casual walk that focuses on your surroundings). But spend the bulk of your outdoor exercise focusing on just one or two senses, and see just how quickly the time goes by.
Further Reading:
Just to get you thinking about this, I'd like to offer up another perspective. Unfolding the Heart's blog this past week looks at how reflections in water prompt the writer to reflect on her surroundings and her own wholeness.
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