I Took A Walk This Afternoon...

There are days that sometimes seem to start off with an overwhelming sense of urgency, all for no apparent reason. I wake up and as I walk from room to room, I find myself presented at a to-do list that grows with every step, turning into a wild-haired beast skulking in the corner by the time I’ve made it to the kitchen to pour myself a glass of water.

I look around me and The Things That Must Be Done snarl back: Do dishes. Make salsa. Respond to emails. Remember to call so-and-so back. Mail letter. Update this month’s budget. Water plants. Prep tonight’s dinner. Start writing my next freelance article. Read Bible. Make bed. Finish painting bathroom. Watch Netflix DVD so I can mail it back tomorrow.

It goes on and on, and with every step, I feel I’m gasping for air.

Some days, that’s where I find myself and I honestly have no idea how I ended up here.

But I know what I must do next, even when it seems the last possible option, when everything is screaming at me, Do this now! You must tackle this! Don’t wait before you do this!

I stop.

I breathe.

I put on my shoes and I go for a walk around the neighborhood. I marvel at all the leaves swirling in the yards around ours. I venture down the road and chuckle as a little mutt of a dog scampers toward me with a friendly bark to say, “Hello!”

I keep walking, past the house that reminds of a castle with the turret in the front yard, and smile when I make my way to the end of our street and watch the horses grazing in the yard (seriously), with a picturesque pond in the distance. (Maybe someday I'll befriend the family so I can use these moments to drink in the vista from the bench on the edge of the water.)

I walk back and make my way up our driveway, corralling sticks and branches that have littered the yard. I stack them in a pile and I unlock the front door, coming back into this house of mine, which is now a completely different place.

It’s funny how not doing that which you feel you must do is the thing that you need to do most. How the right move doesn’t always make sense, how what sets you free might be that which feels most foolish. And yet, that could not be more from the truth.

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