We’ve had a steady stream of company visiting from out of town these last couple weeks. Alex and I enjoy hosting and work really hard to make our place warm and inviting (never mind the fact that we only have one bathroom - pray for a windfall so we can build another one).
Amen to that, Jonas!... that is, if you are fortunate enough to have such a place to walk! Walking on cement past nothing but rows of houses does not actually have the same effect; the nature part is sort of missing. But I do indeed love the remedy for stress.
I thought about that, Beth (and have too lived in many such places)... But also, God can make beauty out of the mundane! No need to live in close access to wilderness. The point is getting out of the house, away from the screens, out of our heads, and into our bodies through movement. Walking is how I do it. But it can also be done in a wheelchair, in the middle of a snowstorm, down dark alleys at night, etc. And not to make it prescriptive like exercise. Just go, be free!! Thanks, Beth!!
Many thanks for the response, Jonas! I understand the idea of need for movement and getting out of the seclusion of four walls - (which I have always done with square dancing, church activities, dine-outs and other socials, etc.... and yes, much really fast walking!) - but it is the real communing with nature that is missing in all this. I know, because I have had that freedom for beautiful nature walks in the past... and indeed, there is a difference! The nearest real nature for me right now is a good distance drive away, which I cannot afford. However, I am hoping this will soon change. Thank you for understanding.
So it started with so much company. So why so much company? My partner say that guests are like fish, they start to stink after 3 days. Same in reverse, if we are visiting another. We begin to have a fragrance.
The “Christian way” seems to be so much about sacrifice, and denying one’s own feeling and inclinations. What about honouring thy self AND the other, but not sacrificing the self.
We are each responsible for ourselves. There is a call to be responsible for “thy self”. Not for me to lean on another or they on me, unless, out of true compassion, we embrace the other, or they us.
Amen to that, Jonas!... that is, if you are fortunate enough to have such a place to walk! Walking on cement past nothing but rows of houses does not actually have the same effect; the nature part is sort of missing. But I do indeed love the remedy for stress.
I thought about that, Beth (and have too lived in many such places)... But also, God can make beauty out of the mundane! No need to live in close access to wilderness. The point is getting out of the house, away from the screens, out of our heads, and into our bodies through movement. Walking is how I do it. But it can also be done in a wheelchair, in the middle of a snowstorm, down dark alleys at night, etc. And not to make it prescriptive like exercise. Just go, be free!! Thanks, Beth!!
Many thanks for the response, Jonas! I understand the idea of need for movement and getting out of the seclusion of four walls - (which I have always done with square dancing, church activities, dine-outs and other socials, etc.... and yes, much really fast walking!) - but it is the real communing with nature that is missing in all this. I know, because I have had that freedom for beautiful nature walks in the past... and indeed, there is a difference! The nearest real nature for me right now is a good distance drive away, which I cannot afford. However, I am hoping this will soon change. Thank you for understanding.
I applaud your honestly and thought processes Jonas!
Ok .. so this was on time! I will just say I use the “guest” as a metaphor, for to many visitors in my head… so Thanks Alex!
And to you for this … “Sometimes you just got walk it off”
So it started with so much company. So why so much company? My partner say that guests are like fish, they start to stink after 3 days. Same in reverse, if we are visiting another. We begin to have a fragrance.
The “Christian way” seems to be so much about sacrifice, and denying one’s own feeling and inclinations. What about honouring thy self AND the other, but not sacrificing the self.
We are each responsible for ourselves. There is a call to be responsible for “thy self”. Not for me to lean on another or they on me, unless, out of true compassion, we embrace the other, or they us.
Rick Earl