Tag Archives: walking and thinking

Stirring Free Thinking

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According to Tom Kelley, “exercise creates a responsive, innovative culture.” I whole heartedly agree. Ideas that came to me while walking helped me to write a memoir. Whole pages of text were composed in my mind as I beat the pavement daily.  Independent publishing was the right avenue to persue if I wanted to share my ponderings about the past  creatively. I had no doubt.

Falkner on storyHere’s an article that recently appeared on MSN.com about Why Walking Helps Us Think. http://a.msn.com/0E/en-us/BB1tnsq.

Top thought leaders advocate for the value of holding business meetings while walking. Listen to this Ted Talk if you are interested in this concept. http://blog.ted.com/2013/04/29/walking-meetings-5-surprising-thinkers-who-swore-by-them/.

Some of the top employers in this country are also allowing their workers to take time out of their daily schedules to exercise. It helps to create a culture of healthy minds, bodies and spirit. Many of these top companies have on-site exercise facilities.

For those who are not able to exercise during business hours, or do not have the resources to join a health club or gym, the best form of exercise is walking – and it is free!

I contend that thirty days of steady walking will have you feeling better all round – in mind, body and spirit. Watch out, there may be some unexpected consequences. The story in you might just come out!

This blog brought to you by Sue Batton Leonard. Author of the EVVY award-winning book Gift of a Lifetime:Finding Fulfilling Things in the Unexpected. For information about the memoir, browse this website and go to

The Art of Meandering

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“Wondering is healthy. Broadens the mind. Opens you up to all sorts of stray thoughts and possiblities.” ~ Charles deLint 

Have you ever walked as a way to help sort out your thoughts? I find fulfillment in using it as a method of putting things in perspective.  Far too often, however, my objectives also include giving myself a cardio workout, so I move at a very brisk pace. 

 One day as I walked this past summer, I was behind “a slow poke.” I proceeded to pass the woman. I reached my endpoint, turned around to go back home and passed her again going in the other direction. As I zoomed by her, she remarked to me that I sure walk fast, and that she was impressed. 

walking in waterWalking at a fast pace is all well and good but my thinking tries to keeps pace, so it is hard to quiet my mind when I move along too quickly. There is value in letting our thoughts wander, roam and journey off the beaten path. 

Since my goals for walking are not to lose weight, I need to practice the art of  meandering. I have made a deal with myself that a couple of days a week I will: 

Go on a meditative walk

Be more focused on observing the surroundings

Imagine a personal paradise and escape to  it 

 Marcel Proust says “the only paradise is the paradise of lost.” I interpret that to mean being lost in our dreams, imaginations and thoughts. That kind of oasis can be found by all of us, if we allow it. 

If you were to write a book  about your personal utopia, what would it look like? Do you think you will ever find it? How?

Visit us tomorrow on All Things Fulfilling, where sharing independent thoughts, words and views is all part of the business. This blog is brought to you by www.CornerstoneFulfillmentService.com.