Intentions: exercise, exploration, awareness
One of my favorite rituals, and one of my dogs’ favorite rituals as well, is the ritual of a daily walk. This ritual is designed to take time out of your day more than some of the others, but that’s because it brings an enormous amount of value. In terms of exploring nature and being aware of the natural world, there’s no substitute for going outside.
This is also an excellent habit to form for your health, especially as you get older — it’s a gentle but reliable form of full-body exercise. If you have a garden then you might already be enjoying the outdoors on a regular basis, but a daily walk can still enrich your life by allowing you space to explore your immediate surroundings. Instead of spending time working or accomplishing tasks in your garden, you’re just out in the world, enjoying the outdoors.
Ritual Items
walking stick, cane, or staff (optional)
camera or phone (optional)
map (optional)
Walking
Gather up whatever you need for your walk. If you’re going somewhere adventurous, you’ll probably want your walking stick. If it’s wet out, you might want a jacket and boots. If you have a phone with a camera and map app, you probably won’t need separate versions of these items, but don’t forget your phone! And always remember your keys.
When you’re ready to embark, open your door, and before you step through it, say:
Sun and Moon,
Watch over me,
Wherever I go on this Earth.May my path lead me
through sorrow to joy,
through shadow to light,
through conflict to peace,
and always bring me home.1
Now take your walk! If you want a good “rule of thumb” for a daily walk, aim to spend 20-30 minutes outside, or try to walk for a full mile. If you’re unsure where to go, just start walking down the road where you live and see where that takes you.
Make note of interesting landmarks along the way, whether that’s your neighbor’s Lending Library, a nearby coffee shop, or a nice cedar tree. Pay attention to which plants grow and where, where mushrooms appear during the year, and where you see animals on the way. Do you see a plant or animal you don’t recognize? Take a picture so you can look it up later online.
Breathe in the fresh air and let your breathing fall into a rhythm with your stride. Let your senses bask in the environment, whether it’s snowing, raining, or sunny. Your body responds to the weather, the temperature, and the way that the Sun and the Earth dance together. Your skin warms and shivers in response because you’re part of that dance, too.
Ways to Customize
Develop a habit. Take the same path every day for a week, a month, or an entire season. Pay attention to which plants grow and where, where mushrooms appear during the year, and where you see animals on the way.
Break the habit. Once you’re used to a specific path, or if you just want to try something different one day, take a different path and explore in a new direction. If there’s nothing near where you live that interests you, get in the car and take a hike in a more rugged environment.
Take a photo in the same place every day and put together an album of the seasons that you can return to throughout the year to see how the Sun’s journey changes the Earth where you live. No matter what climate you’re in, we all feel its influence.
If it’s safe to do so where you live, take the occasional moonlit stroll. See how your favorite daytime walk becomes a different world at night, and make note of how the plants and animals react in this environment.
If you have (or are developing) a good ability to identify and use your local plants, take a foraging bag with you, and forage while you’re out. Depending on where you live, there may be mushrooms, berries, vegetables, herbs.... Just stay safe, don’t touch plants that you are unfamiliar with, and don’t ever ingest anything that you can’t identify with complete certainty.
If you would prefer to shorthand this incantation, try making it into a sigil. You can put the sigil on a piece of paper and put it in your shoe, or carve it onto the end of your walking stick as a protective charm.