Personal Topic #1


Walking
When the weather allows it, I spend hours each day walking aimlessly along unplanned paths around CNU. Some days, these walks take me into the trees along the no land trail; other days I find myself wandering down small roads in the neighborhoods surrounding the campus. Likewise, when I'm home I often go on small hikes before work, I hike with my family, I walk on the country roads around my house, and sometimes I walk into the woods to find deer. The act of walking and silently engaging with my surroundings brings me life and energy. I become more aware of the many sights, sounds and smells. I appreciate how the light falls through the leaves, the crisp sound of squirrels scurrying up trees, the smell of freshly fallen rain. In my regular rountine of school and work and family, I constantly shift focus to myself and turn others into "objects," creating what Martin Buber refers to as an "I-it" relationship. I become preoccupied with my own thoughts, feelings, wants, needs, etc. In nature, however, the beauty of God's creation forces my focus away from myself as He reveals His magnificence in creation. These walks, therefore, become times of unstructured meditation, with minimal thought as I speechlessly stand in awe of His work; God uses these times to reveal Himself to me and fill me with joy in life. 

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