Really, walking outdoors is fun. It’s actually great. And if the weather outside is amazing, then one should take full advantage of it.
Yesterday evening, after many days, in fact months, I went on the terrace for my evening walk. The weather was great. The air was a bit breezy. And I had a good half an hour walk.
I enjoyed my walk a lot more than I usually enjoy my regular treadmill walks indoors. And the difference was really something big. I could feel my whole body moving differently and a bit more freely compared to my straight standing posture on the treadmill.
Sure, I do enjoy my treadmill walks, and I have been continuously walking on a treadmill for the past two months or so, almost every day. It’s great. It helps me to have the proper sweaty walk and great cardio. But the outdoors is also fun.
And I have decided that now winter has almost ended, so I am going to have a mix of both types of walk in my everyday life. I think it’s going to be more interesting, fun, and beautiful.
I am excited for my outdoor walks. What about you? Don’t wait too much. Spring is in its full charm right now. Go, have a walk outside. It’s good for your health and longevity. Don’t think too much now. Just put on those shoes and go. You will enjoy it.
Health, especially good health when you are physically, mentally, and emotionally sound and strong, is a privilege we take for granted every day.
My hospital visits and frequent surprising ailments in the recent past have made me aware of this even more. Right now, it’s 4:35 am in the morning, I am sitting in front of my laptop, and typing this piece for my blog happily and peacefully after having a deep and restorative sleep at night. And I am happily doing this. But this wasn’t the case just a few days back.
Almost two to three weeks back, I had an excruciating nerve and back pain in my body, which led me to a very bad physical and emotional space. Things feel very heavy and bad when you can’t move any part of your body without crying in pain. A lot of pain!
Luckily, I have Abhi(my hubby, my better half, and my partner). He carefully, and with a lot of patience (a lot of patience!), took me to the hospital, and we immediately started the medications. Thankfully, painkillers started working well, and I got the immediate, much-needed relief I needed that time. Medicines are still continuing. And precautions have to be taken in everyday life to avoid such kind of pain. I am mindful of the situation more now.
In the initial 2-3 days of medication, I used to sleep a lot during the day because of heavy doses, and any physical movement was also not very easy due to weakness. Though I still feel weak sometimes. And I started hating the fact that I was only lying, sleeping, and sleeping all day.
In times like these, you start to see health very differently. Suddenly, even walking comfortably for an hour or so feels like a big privilege. Sleeping and waking up on time feels like an impractical and highly privileged thing. And then in the recovery process, you start to respect your body, your health, and your circumstances, which ensures that you get this privilege as a basic everyday need in your life. Many people don’t get it for years.
Even right now, when I remember my condition two to three weeks back, sitting in my study and writing this blog comfortably, feels very different. It feels like a blessing. And I know deep down that it is a blessing. The priceless one indeed!
May divine bless you with a very good physical, mental, emotional, spiritual, cognitive, financial, and social health and well-being.
I am noticing one thing. As I am growing older, I am more and more inclined towards home-cooked meals. For me, now, the Ghar ka khana is ultimate heaven.
Although since childhood I have been that kid who used to eat home-cooked meals only, and chips, biscuits, icecreams, or samosas were the things of the weekend. I was never that kid with a junk food habit.
But there was one more thing. I was also not the one who used to eat ghar ka khana happily. Actually, till age 8, I can remember I was the kid whose parents really struggled to feed her. I was very thin, usually sick, and an underweight kid then. Mummy papa tried many things, but it just didn’t work. I hated eating veggies and used to throw them in the dustbin. I had no liking for any fruit as such. Daal I didn’t like, roti, and rice I used to eat with a little oil and salt. Yeah, that was me. And bread? I used to like bread, jam, or bread with ghar ki malai then.
Mumma papa got me a few medicinal syrups so that I can feel hungry and eat proper meals, but that wasn’t very helpful either. Yes, samosa, maggie, noodles, icecream, chocolates, chips were all my occasional friends then. Occasionally means once a week or every two weeks here.
I was 8 when I got admitted to my hostel in Banasthali in the 4th standard. It was the year 2005.
There, things started changing. We had fixed meal times, and we had to reach our mess on time for breakfast, lunch, and dinner every day. We used to take our plates, and our wardens used to serve us the meals. There, I started eating healthily. I don’t know what it was! Was that the effect of community, because we used to go together for our meals, sit with each other, eat and talk, and sometimes talk a lot and eat while we talked? I don’t know!
I kind of started eating like a healthy kid. The hatred for veggies took a bit of time to go, and it had to go because there I couldn’t throw my food in the dustbin so easily. I had to finish my food properly. And then, the variety of food, the taste, the menu was fortunately very good in my hostel. Sure, the hostel food goes through its own share of downs, but those few days were nothing compared to the tasty meals we had and enjoyed during our hostel days.
I developed my liking for eating healthy and normal ghar ka khana because of my hostel days. I know it might sound ironic to many of you, but it’s true in my case. My health got better. I went from an underweight kid to a healthy BMI girl over time, and it stayed very well during all those years there.
Then, after coming to Delhi for my college studies, I naturally became inclined towards ghar ka khana as I started living with my parents. And then, I kind of started admiring and loving Mumma’s specialities more and more. I remember those were the days when I used to think that I had missed a lot of my mumma’s food, and now I am going to make up for all those years. Yes, I used to eat in my college canteen as well, and that was the time when I fell in love with momos, but ghar ka khana had become the ultimate satisfaction by then.
Today, I am not living in my hostel or with my mom permanently, but one thing I am grateful for is that I have fairly developed the taste and a lot more liking for ghar ka healthy and tasty khana. And honestly, I am grateful for this liking.
Yes, I do have my KFC chicken burger, momos, and chocolates, and cakes, but I have intentionally brought them to a few cheat meals or day outs in a month. They are occasional. Ghar ka khana is the regular thing for me.
I hope more and more people start including more home-cooked meals in their lives. I know it’s not easy every time. Especially when you are not good at cooking, it is difficult. And many times, you have a time crunch as well. However, taking a step towards making this happen is a hundred percent worth your time. I have no doubt about it.
Walking is a gift to me. Always. It’s always been a gift to me.
I vividly remember my evening walks with my friends when I was in a hostel during my school days. We used to just roam around for hours on our campus. Those days, little did we know that something so simple as just going for a walk with your friend in the evening would someday feel like a luxury. And honestly, today I feel that this luxury has gotten really expensive.
That’s life. A timepass evening with your friend every day becomes the occasional video calls, and we realise what we had was a lot more precious than whatever we can earn and buy now.
After finishing my school, I came back to Delhi for further studies and started living with my parents there. I think those were the days when I started solo walks. It started slowly. I stuck to it. It helped me. It became my companion many times. Walking on my terrace became my everyday thing. Most of the times, me, my earphones plugged in and my walk – It continued like that for some time. Then I started going to parks for my morning and evening walks. This time, shoes were put on, but earphones were not always in. And this phase also continued for a good time.
Time passed. I got married. And I moved from Delhi to my current residence. But my walk continued. Evening walk on my terrace. Shoes put on, headphones on, and my smart watch perfectly counting my steps.
Today, I have a treadmill in my hall for having a good cardio, and I walk on my treadmill most of the days.
Today, I feel walking has saved me from many things. Maybe many, many things. Many times, many, many times, when I feel lost till day, those few minutes or hours of walking bring me back to my roots, to my values, to my aspirations, and, most importantly, to my love for this beautiful life.
Whenever I have felt lost, I have found myself. Whenever I have been overwhelmed, I have emptied myself. Whenever I feel stuck, it frees me up. It has been my remedy since the time I didn’t know it was the remedy I would need in my life.
Today, I walk to pause. I walk to rest. I walk to exhaust myself. I walk to start afresh. I walk to finish what I have started.
I walk to choose me, to choose faith, to choose faith in life, and to choose life every time.
Srishti Kumari 