In Need of Movement

When I do not get outside enough, all my thinking and writing turns inward. I write about people, thoughts, buildings. I spin circles in my mind’s eye in the shape of abstract concepts, forgetting the leaves, forgetting the cut peaks, forgetting the chilling river. For the time being, thirty hours of work per week plus grad school means no long walks and few short walks. It means I miss yoga class in order to carpool (which means staying after the coffeehouse closes). It means I’m asking my body to repeat physical activities (sitting for long hours at the computer, standing for long hours on the concrete coffeehouse floor). Furthermore, I’m not replenishing my body with physical diversity because time slips away, and sleep sinks in, and there are always words yet to be written.

People who know me well, know that this chips away at my mental, spiritual, and physical health.

I see the local chiropractor.
I check my posture obsessively.
I stretch when I can, though never enough.

But ultimately, I set goals:

Get through the remaining three weeks of Concentration at the craft school, and you’ll be self-employed from November 18th through mid-March. You can walk all you want then, and even make up for lost time with some longer hikes.

Keep submitting query letters and essays and you might save up enough money for a yoga retreat.

When you can’t walk outside because you’re too busy, open your mind and invite the outside in. Hold it there in your mind’s eye and study it like a flake of gold floating in water. Take inspiration in the small things and remember the limitless of your own imagination.