*The Other Direction

Unforced Movement
Moving without trying to improve anything.

I decided to go walking before breakfast.

Before I left, I also decided to go to the second trail head first and walk down to the first trail head second.

My initial thought was that I had never gone this way before, though I had thought about it when the first trail head was closed. I wanted to see if there was an opening.

I never did.

For some reason it seemed too risky, even if it would have satisfied my curiosity.

As I walked the sidewalk toward the second trail head, I realized I was going uphill.

I don’t know that I ever noticed before that I had been going downhill on the same walk.

I decided not to listen to music, so I turned off my headphones.

I felt like I needed to be fully aware of my surroundings because I always thought bikes traveled faster in this direction and might catch me off guard from behind.

I felt uneasy.

Not fully anxious.

Just below that.

Was it because I had a preconceived notion that this walk would be more difficult?

No idea.

Then I decided maybe I needed the music.

So I turned my headphones back on.

That felt better. Maybe because I didn’t feel alone.

But the concern about being hit by a biker from behind persisted, so I turned the music down enough that I could hear both the outside world and the music.

It turned out to be a pretty good combination.

A jogger passed me going my direction, and I saw another walker heading toward me at about the same pace.

When I got right next to her, she jumped.

Startled.

It was like I had jumped out of a bush and yelled,
“Boo!”

I thought it was odd and funny at the same time.

She must have been very much inside her own head while letting her body do the walking.

Then I got to a steeper part of the trail.

I saw a large beetle start up the incline and wondered if the beetle felt the uphill, or if it always felt the same.

Eventually I reached the top of the hill and took a picture of the view for a new screen saver.

I felt small, but not insignificant.

I got to the crosswalk and hit the button.

The rest of the world seemed to be up and going.

I went home for breakfast.