The morning walk

It had been months I hadn’t moved my lazy ass to get out of the house and go for a morning walk. I am usually dragged more into the reasons like ‘It’s too hot outside’, ‘It’s late’, ‘I got to cook’ or sometimes ‘Just don’t feel like’.  And this is despite the fact that mornings are cooler, pleasant, peaceful, greener and always available. The laziness is more in my mind than in my body.

This morning though, I simply got up early, got dressed and stepped out of the house. There is a time when you do take control of your brain and I guess today was one of them. I was surprised at the speed in which I took the decision and was already on my way. That was the first of many reasons that morning, I smiled wider.

As I stepped out, the first thing I noticed was how fresh the air felt. It smelled of leaves and damp mud from watering plants and soft warm sun playing with it. It smelled of ginger tea, newspaper, fresh vegetables and boiling hot milk. It also smelled of sweaty people on the jogging track, peculiar dust mixed with garbage being thrown in the air by sweepers and some strong perfumes of office going people.

The sweet mixture of all these scents was stirring my hunger for experiencing this walk more than my hunger for breakfast. I was walking on the jogging track just outside my society. The plan was to stick to the jogging track. But my feet decided otherwise and I then started my walk along a new bridge leading to a big lake.

The certainty of my uncertain path intrigued me and I smiled wider.

I had packed a few things in my little handbag that I took with me. One of them was my mobile and headphones. It was quite a lucrative idea to listen to my favourite pop list as I walked. It would have surely took me to a new world of sensory pleasure. But something stopped my hand midway and I decided against using my headphones. Instead, I heard babies crying in the nearby buildings, people taking bath, children hurrying for school and someone working hard at their classical music practice. I heard distant honking horns, running water taps, happy chatting of grandmas on walk and of course the constant noise of automobiles. It all had a symphony in them. They all worked together in unison to create the atmosphere of the city I lived in. It was the heart of the city speaking to me. Rather it was my own heart opening up to me.

As I absorbed this brilliant music of my city, it filled me with new found love towards it and I smiled wider.

I had now reached the entrance of the beautiful lake where hundreds of people in their morning walk costumes wandered about in various degrees of busyness. Some walking, some running, some chatting with others and some chatting on phone, some with their music on ears  and some with the music out loud for everyone to hear. One guy was actually broadcasting today’s news on his little transistor. I became one of the crowd and started walking by the lake. I had a little inking to take my phone out and call a friend or check my WhatsApp while I was doing this supposedly useless activity of ‘walking’. I surely should make better use of my time while I am on this walk.

But somehow my hand never reached the phone, and I got so busy observing the dramatic and dynamic scenes in front of me that I repelled the idea of looking at the cheesy updates on social networking sites or even the half chewed news on news sites.

After many days, something had held my attention more than my phone. I smiled wider.

By now I felt warm and vibrant, a little exhausted too and I decided to sit on the bench facing the lake. Surprisingly all the benches were empty. I guess it is a crime to feel exhausted on a morning walk. If you are tired, walk more and walk faster. I almost laughed when I saw a lady walking faster than the efficiency of her frame and huffing-puffing to almost tears. Does it hurt to take a break?

‘Busy is good’ I heard someone saying on their phone and felt instantly stupid at my lack of hurrying around the place. I looked at that person. A mobile in one hand, headphone on ears, Nike sports shoes running at the speed of light around a magnificent lake, like it did not even exist. He looked ‘super busy’ and ‘ultra cool’. Whereas poor I was simply sitting on the bench facing the placid lake, watching the beautiful water ripple occasionally. The low bent trees trying hard to reach the water. The sun mocking at me through the foliage and little birds singing their beautiful melodies and a quick playful breeze catching me off-guard. I was already busy, taking in all the wonders in front of me. Absorbing the vibrant energy of sun and swaying to the tunes of nature.

I looked at my reflection in the water and smiled wider.