When we make a commitment to ourselves, a seed is planted within. We nurture it with simple, daily actions because it has a hard time being ignored. Stay focused on the commitment day in and day out, so the seed within, will sprout and grow.

They were calling for rain overnight, which we need, but peering out my backdoor window around 5am, the deck looked dry. I thought about going back to bed, but I know my body and once it realizes it’s morning, no matter the hour, it’s ready to go! On mornings like these, I give myself permission to rest later in the day if needed.

Daylight arrived and the dogs went outside, but still, no rain. On August 1st, I promised myself to go for a walk every weekday morning if at all possible and so it began on Monday, August 3rd. I stepped into my bedroom to exchange my pajamas for some street clothes and Winnie came back inside, but Denver laid down on the deck, not ready to come back in. I laid a blanket over Winnie’s designated chair by the window, grabbed a water bottle and stepped outside on the front porch.

It was raining.

I stood still to gauge how hard it was raining and could feel the drops hit my skin, but they had space between them. My feet moved from the porch to the street and the walking commenced. The road was slippery and I instantly regretted choosing smooth-soled running shoes instead of cleats, but kept walking, just more mindfully. I spotted a neighbor rinsing off a paddleboard and stopped to chat with him.

One of my goals is to start using my paddleboard more often, so we compared notes. He wasn’t particularly impressed with his, even though I thought it was pretty, so it seems with paddleboards pretty doesn’t count as much as performance.

He offered a hug and we said our farewells as I made my way toward the street to continue walking. It wasn’t raining any harder and I knew the next few streets offered a canopy of trees, so I took those streets until I was standing at a crossroads. That’s when I saw him coming toward me walking at a steady pace uphill, smiling from ear to ear.

I don’t know this guy, but I smile every time I see him because he has that vibe of positivity. I mentioned several posts ago that the first time I saw him, he stopped and greeted me by name, as if he knew me. I don’t know his name, but our paths collide quite frequently and seeing him made me feel less like a weirdo for walking in the rain. He made it to the top of the hill and exclaimed, “Barbara!”, and I laughed.

We stood in the middle of the intersection and talked for a moment. He mentioned his walking route down to the lake, around the track and then up this hill. I told him I’d love to do that, but am concerned about going down there alone and he said, “You should be concerned!”

I asked if he walked during the winter and he said yes, so we agreed to walk down to the lake together after the weather cools off. This man is a good bit older than me, but he made this commitment to walk daily long before I did and he inspires me. It was barely raining as we said our goodbyes, but while looking up at the sky, he stepped away with this…”Barbara! I walk every day…come rain or shine!”

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