I walk Daisy (we didn’t name her) most days for 45 minutes or so. And that’s just me. She gets walked at least one other time every day by someone else in the family. If Nanci is walking her, it’s more likely to be an hour to an hour and a half. Daisy is an energetic little Jack Russel we picked up last fall through the Pet Rescue organization. And she’s already changed my life - mostly because now I walk.

I’ve always disliked almost any physical exertion. I hate riding bikes, I hate lifting weights. I joined the gym last year and went diligently for a couple of months but eventually stopped going and canceled my membership. Too much work getting there, changing, publicly humiliating myself, changing, going home, laundry.

But this walking thing is okay. I’ve gotten to know my neighborhood and am starting to wave to folks who are becoming familiar simply because I pass by - not in a car. Yesterday there was a little boy on the front step of a house a few blocks from here. He was distressed and said, "mister, I can’t find my grandpa!" Apparently he was playing on the computer but when he came out of the room, his grandpa was nowhere to be found. I took his hand and we looked in the back yard, the garage and out down the back lane. I rang the doorbell, but there was no response. I eventually went in fearing maybe his Grandpa had fallen or had a heart attack or something. It feels weird walking though someone’s house uninvited, but I checked every room, all the while getting more concerned that something might really be wrong.

We did find Grandpa in the basement. He must be hard of hearing and was puttering away at something down there. "Sonny!" he said with an affectionate thick east-European accent, "I would never leave you!" He shook my hand and thanked me and Daisy and I were on our way.

I‘ve also dropped about 10 pounds. That can’t be bad. I heard a statistic that roughly 60% of Canadians are overweight. The cost of our poor physical health to the health care system is roughly the same amount of money Canada has committed to global poverty relief (Millennium Development commitment 2000) but according to Stephen Harper, it’s a commitment we can’t afford to honour - and so we don’t.

Is it reasonable to think of walking as a meaningful and practical way to love others - a gesture of kinship?

This morning was glorious! The sun was blazing but the air was still cool. Kids were rushing to beat the bell. A friend recognized me as he drove by on his way to work and we exchanged fond greetings. As we strolled along I started noticing how much garbage was strewn over lawns and boulevards and began to pick up as I walked, always discarding each time we passed a garbage can. Suddenly and unexpectedly I was overwhelmed with happiness - not ecstatic or anything, just happy.

Tell a Friend