Walking Away the Holidays

I’m a big fan of walking. In fact, I should really do it more.

It’s so simple, really. You just put one foot in front of the other and you keep going. Whether your destination is around the block, around the building or around the corner, walking is the simplest, least expensive way to get wherever you want to go. You don’t have to drive. You don’t have to sit in traffic (other than foot traffic, I guess…) and you don’t have to pay for gas.

Walking (I’ve found) is also a great stress reducer—especially around the holidays. Once you get going, your heart beats faster, the endorphins start pumping and you start to feel better. Whatever was bothering you before, is not that big of a deal until well … you walk back home.

But hopefully by then, those endorphins are still pumping through your blood and whatever—or whomever—was stressing you out, no longer is a big deal (well, not as big as before). This is why I highly recommend going for a walk during the holidays.

We all know that the holidays can be stressful. Whether you’re travelling or having family stay with you—you’re completely out of your element. Your routines are thrown off. Your children are over-excited (and probably not behaving well because of it) everyone’s sleep cycles are way off or even non-existent.

Why?

Because whether your happy to see your family or not—there they are! And there is no escaping them … unless you go for a walk.

When family comes to town (or on the flip side, you have to stay with them for a few days) you are face to face with those people’s habits, idiosyncrasies’ and political, social and moral opinions that you probably don’t agree with or frankly, want to hear about during the extended stay.

And, no matter how much you love those people—you’re trapped.

Just this morning, I was thinking about all of the walks I’ve had during the holidays and how cathartic they’ve been. One year, we lost my mother around Thanksgiving. The day she died the kids all went for a walk on the beach. Hours earlier, we were screaming at each other, blaming each other and basically hating each other. After my mom passed—we didn’t know what to do with each other. So we went for a walk.

We walked two miles down the beach and two miles back. We didn’t talk—we just walked. I look back and think that walk was a life saver. It made life at that time as I knew it more manageable (for everyone involved) including my Father who probably needed to have us out of the house for a few hours to get some peace.

This year, when things get stressful in your house (or in the house you’re staying in) just go for a walk. Trust me, you’ll be glad you did.