Giving Thanks
Many of you know how walking saved and also transformed my life. That experience inspired me to found the One Million Women Walking movement. Looking back at those dark years and how walking kept me going forward, literally one step, one walk, one mile at a time, I find myself grateful. Not—oh gee that was just so wonderful I want to do it all again. NOT like that. Not even a little bit. More along the lines of thankful:
for all I learned,
for the woman I became because of the seemingly endless challenges,
for those challenges having led me to here,
for One Million Women Walking,
and most importantly, for you.
For this I am grateful. For this I give thanks.
We never know where our path will lead, not really. Even something as mundane as the weekly grocery run can turn into an adventure with one flat tire, one stray dog, one elderly woman locked out of her car in the rain. One thing I’ve learned on this walk of life, and continue to learn every day, is to be present, take nothing for granted, and be grateful for everything—large and small!
Be grateful for your senses, for your beating heart and working lungs. Be grateful for your feet, your hands, your laughter. Be grateful for all the things, people, circumstances you take for granted and for all of your own gifts you take for granted—your passions, your talents, your skills, your interests. Never take yourself for granted.
These are just a few of the lessons I’ve been taught over the years of my journey. I’ll continue to learn them in all their magical, wonderful, confusing, frustrating, maddening, infuriating iterations and disguises. Turns out lessons are as stubborn as students. Who knew?
On this day before Thanksgiving, I give thanks for all I’ve learned, all I’ll learn again, all I’ve yet to learn. And I give thanks for you, for walking, for my walking practice, for the One Million Women Walking movement.
What are you thankful for? What lessons are you currently learning? Take them for a walk and make friends with them—that usually works for me.
I wish you and yours the most thankful of Thanksgivings. And after the main course, before the dessert, go for a walk together—around the yard, around the block, around the town. You’ll be so glad you did because you know what? It’ll be an adventure . . .