Free Your Mind

On the Occasion on International Women's Day, I wanted to thank a few friends who have been a true inspiration to me and also share my 'walking experience' with the rest of my friends in my network. I hope you enjoy it !

I was reminded of the song by En Vogue. The girl band said, ‘Free your mind and the rest will follow’. I realise it is easier said than done and a topic for deliberation at several workshops around Personal Resilience and Mental Toughness.

I was driving back from work one evening. I wasn’t having a great day; there had been too many things I was grappling with, but I knew there had to be a way out. Just then, a conversation with a friend came to mind and I clearly remembered Lucy’s words. ‘I go for a walk every evening’, she had said. ‘It helps me clear my mind.’ Now, how can anyone who knows Lucy, not listen to Lucy? And for me Lucy Fernandes was my first boss in the corporate world – the lady who is known for her smile!

I remember when I was doing a course with the Art of Living Foundation, many years ago, our homework was a 30-minute walk, every single day. I have always been conscientious with my homework, so although, it was not easy to make time for it between work and the evening routine with the children, I did it religiously until the end of the course and I enjoyed it, too! Later that routine, really prompted me to get out of the house in the evenings for a bit of a stroll in our gated community. It wasn’t, however, a serious walk but mostly hob-knobbing and chatting with the ladies.

So, I decided to take Lucy’s advice and start 'walking'. I was regular for a few days and realised that it had a great effect on my mind and spirit. Very soon, however, I broke the link due to my calls in the evenings. I thought to myself, ‘it is okay to give it a miss, but I does make me a grumpy mummy’. I did my Yoga in the mornings, but the evening walk was a great way to seal my day. Then, a close friend Roli Agroya mentioned that she had begun walking, too, and didn’t ever miss her walk. I thought to myself, why was I missing that magical hour in my daily routine? The calls continued to fill up my evenings, so I started walking in the mornings.

Waking up early has never really been an issue for me. My husband’s alarm goes off at 5 am. Every morning I set out on my own... I admired the bougainvillea, the daffodils, and smelt the mud, which was made damp by the sprinklers. I realised what a beautiful phenomenon it was – the coming of a new day – dawn, first the cool breeze of the morning and then the sun shining bright, and some of us slept through this, every single day. Well, there are a lot of people who do come out to exercise and marvel at mother nature – ranging from joggers, runners, cyclists, or families taking a leisure stroll. I realised that the traditional walk was back! Ever since the gyms, Zumba and Pilates classes shut during lockdown, one got to see more people on the road. On a lazy and very cold morning, I’d visualize the flowers, the beautiful skies, the happy shiny people on my very scenic trail, and that would be enough to get me out of bed and go get my share of unadulterated oxygen. My favourite aunt always reminded me that I must make a visit to a temple, as often as I could. With my routine, I barely managed to do that once or twice a month. Now, on the trail, I get to meet Hanuman Ji who is known as "Sankat Mochan", meaning the "reliever from troubles", every day. This desire has possibly been alive on my subconscious mind. At the end of the walk, it feels that I have had a vacuum cleaner run through my head. I am so ready to hit the day but first – for my cup of lemon grass and ginger tea. My husband Ashish Arora, who is a runner, has always recommended the necklace trail to me, but I guess it took Lucy to start me off ! I tried it and it worked. Thank you, Lucy!

I must mention that the first 3 to 4 weeks of performing a new activity or fitting it in your routine is often the hardest, but once you cross that 3 or 4-week period or hurdle (in some cases), things begin to get easier as the task then, becomes a habit. Some studies also say that it takes an average of 66 days for a new behaviour to become a part of your personality. My most favourite part is when I kick a pebble and it travels with me for many strides until I lose it to find another one. I also love the crackling sound of the autumn leaves under my feet. My son joins me every now and then, and he is enjoying it, as well. The other day, I went out in the evening instead and I got this very huge smile from an old, grand gentleman, who was probably happy and relieved that I had reinstated my evening walk. I was happy to see him, too!

This morning when I stood to take a moment’s break at one of the areas which was almost like a dense forest, I was reminded of Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll. I wondered if I’d ever see her pop out of the burrow and if she’d have Mad Hatter or March Hare with her. Hehe! Well, it doesn’t cost to daydream, but the quiet moment did take me into an immediate meditation, and I left behind all the texts around ‘being in the now’. We don’t do this often enough do we – just take a moment for ourselves in the day? We did memorise the poem ‘Leisure’ by W H Davies, but do we really follow it says:

What is this life if full of care,

We have no time to stand and stare.

We have no time to stand and stare.

No time to stand beneath the boughs

And stare as long as sheep or cows.

No time to see, in broad daylight,

Streams full of stars, like skies at night and it goes on…

Heather Couchman, your walks have been an inspiration, as well. I love the pictures you send to me. (The donkey is my favourite. )

Having been a part of the Learning Industry for 23 years, I am often asked the question, ‘How does one make learning stick?’ I know there is a huge science behind this from active engagement and making associations to storytelling which Alka Nayar does the best. I, however, have a simple answer, which I came up with recently. ‘Teach what you have learnt and benefitted from, to the people within your circle of influence and urge these friends to give it a good shot.’ You never know – the few pearls of knowledge that you share, could take them a long way – away from that life which is full of care!