Walking Meditation (1 of 8)

Welcome to an 8 day series of photography I took while on meditative walks.

This is a photo of the mug I used for my coffee while on my walk. I walked before I had breakfast, so I brewed some decaf (yes, decaf), filled the mug, and headed out the door. I found that my coffee became a tool for meditation. Every time I would want to drink it, I’d have to stop walking in order to carefully drink and not spill the hot coffee all over my face. Typically if I’m on a walk, I am subconsciously pushing myself through the walk. My brain is thinking a lot about how far I’ve walked, how fast I’m walking, what I have to do when I get back, and I’m probably grabbing my phone every few minutes for something or the other. It results in an unsatisfying experience which makes me want to avoid such walks in the future.

However, I’ve been looking for meditative foci in all areas of my life. In this instance, stopping to drink coffee reminded me to slow down, to take in the air around me, to smell the outdoors, to feel the force of gravity on my body as I moved across the earth. It reminded me that this walk isn’t something to just get done but a micrometaphor for how I want to live as many of my moments as possible.

If something is distracting you, consider using that object of distraction as a meditative tool to help you slow down and notice what your brain is concerned about.