silence of the walk . . . .

as i stepped out of the house this morning, i stepped into 'the silence of the walk'!  very spooky!

merced, and the central valley, is in the midst of 'having a heat wave'...but honestly, it's nothing to sing about!  this morning, now that it is getting lighter, earlier, my alarm went off -- how alarming -- as as i turned over to turn it off -- read that as trying to fling it out the window, or provide it with all therapy -- i honestly did contemplate going back to sleep; it hadn't been that long since i actually had GOTTEN to sleep; this heat makes me a bit, shall we say, moody?!

but, like the (non) olympiad that i am, i do like a good challenge, and since i have walked vigorously for 180 days, i didn't want to break my record!  so, crawling out of bed...literally, i closed up the house and away i went.  what i noticed was the silence...not a bird, not a dog, not a sound in the breaking dawn of the day.  and it was so still, not a lief was stirring.  honestly, it was all a bit creepy.  and the sky was patchy with clouds, and the moon was just this sliver of a smile, like the cheshire cat from alice in wonderland.

and, i didn't see a soul for the longest time, and when i finally did see someone, it wasn't someone i'd ever met on my route.  all in all, a strange day.

however, i've always said that there is something 'godly' in every experience; something to pay attention to; to take note of; to learn.  and this is what i gleaned on my 'silence of the walk . . . .'

today begins the 'olympic champion challenge' for my health miles program...who knew?  not i!  for the next 14 days, i could win a bronze, a silver, or even a gold medal!  oh, ok, it's just a badge on my computer program, but even so....all i have to do is walk -- 70,000 steps for a bronze, 100,000 for a silver, or 170,000 for the gold.  why not go for the gold, me thinks!

see how the spirit works...had i gone back to sleep, i would not have experienced something new in my life, and i would have been 'a step behind', so to speak in this olympic challenge.  so far today, i've walked 10,587 steps...i only need to average 12,143 steps a day to reach the gold!

so, my challenge to you, avid blog readers, is to get yourself a pedometer, and see how far you can step in a day; be challenged, even in the heat of the summer, to put that 'spring in your step' (even if it IS summer), and become aware of the change that will come about in you...your attitude, your eating habits, your clothing fit, and, of course, your mood.  make the effort.  explore something new every day, and then ask yourself, 'what is/was god trying to have me learn from this new experience'. 

not such a difficult challenge is it?  besides, reaching for the gold in this day and age, isn't such a bad idea either . . . .