A Safety Habit While Walking In The Green

Monday, April 3, 2023

The time I share with you a habit I cultivate while walking to stay safe and increase spatial awareness.

I'm the kind that can get into something and forget where my body is located. LOL. Driving had taught me so much about really physically filling up the space and being totally present. I have very big reactionary gaps when I drive because I naturally process things from afar to get a sense of things.

When I walk, I tend to utilize the same strategy as the best defense is being able to assess something with some distance and then reverse or change direction. I technically drive and walk defensively.

Walking outside in nature allows me to become aware physically of everything that's happening all around me. Since I have eyeballs situated in front of my face, I have to get my head swiveling to see what's behind me. But if you're a quiet (and mindful) walker, there's something meditative about getting in the space of being intentionally silent internally as well as physically, through how you move your feet on the ground and refraining from using gadgets that consume attention so you become acutely aware of the surrounding area where the eyeballs are unable to help.

Sounds, smells and some instinctual senses are a few ways to gather intel when I am walking on my merry way forward. Being outside while walking gets me into a heightened state of alertness as I rely on my senses to keep me safe and if l need to change my direction because of a presence of questionable persons or simply critters crossing a path, I make sure to keep a wide reactionary gap.

It's kind of like when you are driving, IF you're not a tailgater (lol). I keep a generous amount of space front and back because I believe that a good amount of allocated reactionary gap aids in efficient maneuvering in case of anything and I like processing things from a bit of a distance as that's how I operate best when sitting behind the wheel in a vehicle or outside with my limbs moving.