Right now I'm walking and this walk is undertaken as an act of prayer,
An act of reverence to the gods of walking.
I didn't know that this god existed.
I was agnostic to most forms of spiritualism and religion and deities,
Pagan,
Monotheistic and otherwise.
But the proof is in the pudding.
In the moment I step one foot after the next,
After the next,
After the next,
My problems dissipate.
I feel at peace.
I move through the world,
But to my eyes the world is moving through me.
I'm connected,
I'm whole,
I'm in the world.
Not just observing it,
Not just seeing it,
Not just dancing on its surface,
But in.
I am in the world,
Of the world,
Am the world.
I pray to the god of walking with each step,
Kissing the ground with my feet as I walk in thanks and gratitude for my body,
For the pathway,
For the opportunity to listen to the sounds of nature,
To feel the sun upon my skin,
To compare the contrast of the green leaves of the trees and the blue sky and the clouds overhead.
The birds are calling,
Praying to a similar god,
The god of flight,
The god of movement,
The god of life.
I walk,
I listen,
And I ask questions.
I ask the god of walking to help me,
To show me the way,
To unlock some problem I've been dealing with,
And inevitably,
Consistently,
Reliably,
Those problems are answered.
I get the guidance I'm seeking,
But more than that,
And far more importantly than that,
The act of prayer,
The act of walking,
The act of immersion in nature,
Answers the far bigger question that I didn't even know that I was asking,
How,
When will I feel connected,
When will I feel safe,
When will I feel at peace,
And the answer comes back here,
Now,
In this moment,
With each step,
Because this moment is perfect.
The sun is shining,
The birds are chirping,
Your body is moving,
And everything is fine.
I ask for more guidance,
And more guidance comes.
Each step is a moment,
Each step is a section of now.
Each step,
Now,
Now,
Now,
Now,
Now,
Now,
Now.
And if you can find peace in one of those steps,
In one of those nows,
You can find it in the next,
And the one after,
And the one after that.
Keep walking,
Keep being here in the moment,
Keep observing,
Keep seeing,
Keep smiling,
Keep looking at nature,
At wonder,
At the moment.
Keep feeling the ground under your feet,
Keep listening to the birds,
All of that is happening in the ever-present now,
And all you need to do is remember,
And keep walking,
Keep praying to the God,
And Gods of walking.
