How do you roll?

Summer is on and many are making the time to enjoy the outdoors. I belong to this group. Screens are fine but once I’m done with them, I consciously ignore them because it is easy to vegetate in front of a screen forever. I feel happier, healthier and fitter when I get regular doses of fresh air and sun.

I was on a trail recently with bikers zipping past me. Joggers and runners passed me. So I sped up too. I started walking faster and faster until I was jogging and then running, although my plan had been to enjoy the trail at my own pace.

“To go faster you must slow down.” – John Brunner

I saw the sign then. It was planted on the side of the trail: ROLL SLOW. ENJOY THE TRAIL. I stopped, out of breath. My intention was to enjoy nature and the trail, not to run. Why was I running so fast? Because the others were? Was that what I wanted?

I slowed down to a lazy walk, sat beside a delightful creek in meditative silence, greeted a park ranger, walked on an unfamiliar side trail, smiled at every kid I saw (they smiled right back), observed many birds, saw a big turtle crawl into the water, and enjoyed watching people in general. I would have missed out on many, many sweet moments had I continued to run.

You can’t enjoy the journey if you keep hurrying through because the journey is the destination. You only travel this road once. Roll slow. Enjoy your journey.