One of my greatest pleasures over the last several years has been the simple act of taking a walk.

I am fortunate enough to live in an area with several parks that include walking trails. These trails are mostly paved and tend to be about a mile or two in length. The hills are not too demanding and I do not find myself needing to forge any surprise bodies of water. I am just able to have a pleasant walk among the trees, prairies, streams, and mostly man made ponds or small lakes. These are a far cry from the trails available in our state or national park system, but I enjoy them.

These details are important, because I don’t want anyone to get the mistaken idea that I am a “hiker”. I labored under that misbelief for a while myself. I have been on hikes in both the Smoky and Rocky mountains-but, again, on short trails labeled “easy” to “moderate”. I would trudge along these trails (some of them NON-PAVED!!!), take in a beautiful vista or play in the river a while, even enjoy a lovely waterfall. I would then make it back to the trail head, drive back to the hotel where I could shower, take a nap, and watch television for a few hours until eating dinner in a local restaurant. Then when I got back home I would actually tell people I went “hiking”. With a straight face and everything.

This was my definition of hiking. I lived happily under this delusion for quite some time and then I met some real, honest-to-goodness hikers. I mean, I didn’t actually join them on a hike or anything (whew!) but we had discussed hiking in casual conversation. Then I saw their Facebook posts-and the pictures they posted for proof positive of their adventures. The hikes these people went on left me in awe of what they had achieved-it was truly admirable.

It was also nuts. They’d do like seven miles-or more. At one time. In a row. Up solid rocks, over rope bridges, through caves, forging rivers and through gorges they went. And sometimes-get this-they would actually camp out at the end of the hike, and go backwards the next day, doing it all over again. This is absolute craziness-lunatic behavior. But admirable nonetheless.

Now, I’m sure the views and experiences are worth the effort. And to be fair, these people are quite fit, whereas I am…not. Hmm. Perhaps I could use a little more “communing with nature”. Nah. I’m good with what I get, thanks.

So. Hiking I do not recommend. BUT-a gentle walk in the woods, or even a well maintained city park-can be quite pleasant. Wonderful, even. A simple stroll can help clear the mind, refresh the spirit, and help one feel a little bit closer to nature and the Almighty. I enjoy experiencing the change of seasons out in the woods-except for Winter, that I do from my easy chair. It’s nice to spot some small wildlife, or perhaps a deer across the field, and feel centered for a little while during a hectic week. It also gets me out and moving, which is good. In short, a walk makes me happy.

Therefore I encourage you to give it a go and see if it doesn’t start to lift your spirits a little bit once you start doing it regularly. You don’t necessarily have to go all in on the hiking thing, but find some small parks where you live and get moving. This can be a great way to bring a little more peace, contentedness and happiness in your day to day.

P.S.-Just so you don’t think I’m totally soft, while out in the woods in the Smokies, I did see a bear once. I got my phone out to take a quick video and was a little too close for comfort since the bear turned, look straight at me, snorted and pawed the ground as if to say, “Back off, Man!” So I did what any red blooded American man would do.

I charged the bear and wrestled it to the ground! We fought tooth and nail for an hour, and when I finally got it in a submission hold it sank its head low and whimpered, signifying that I was in fact its Master. After gaining its respect I pulled the flask from my back pocket, shared a drink of whiskey with my new comrade and sang it to sleep, stroking its muzzle and singing old Willie Nelson songs.

OR

I put the phone away, put my hands up, backed away slowly and rejoined my family at the side of the road.

You can believe whichever version you’d like.

Well, here we are. The new blog is up and running. It’s been a long time coming, certainly. There was a time when I was blogging on a regular basis. My creativity levels have always been high and used for varied projects from blogging to songwriting, poems, my stand up career in the 90s, and all sorts of output in between. There was seldom a time when I didn’t have some sort of project happening to throw myself into and feed that creative need. Even if it wasn’t particularly successful, or if everything else in my life was on the skids, creating helped fulfill me and brought me happiness.

And then, something happened. No, not the pandemic (although that didn’t exactly help). Somehow I lost the spark. I lost my ability to come up with ideas, or to see through what few ideas I had. I’d convinced myself that what I was doing wasn’t any good, that my words and ideas had no impact, no value. Somewhere along the way I’d lost belief in myself. I lost my happy.

Now don’t get me wrong, I wasn’t depressed or anything. I still had joys in my life through family, friends, my sense of spirituality, and the enjoyment of other people’s art, I was just mostly unable to make any art of my own. This has been going on to one degree or another for about four years now, give or take. I’m not really sure why it happened, either. Maybe I just hit a wall and was all used up. Perhaps I just needed to recharge my batteries and it took a lot longer than expected. Maybe I let life get in the way more so than is healthy for a guy like me. Could be that the whole country/world went absolutely bonkers for a while and I just couldn’t figure out how to deal with it in a constructive way. I guess it was a combination of all of those things.

Here’s the thing though, during that time I did try. There are a few bits and pieces of things that have yet to see the light of day. I tried a few short stories . Very short. Like, this blog post is about the same length as a few of them kind of short. Turns out long narrative and descriptive detail isn’t really my thing. I’ve had a few song ideas, wrote a couple of projects for kids, I mean I really did make an effort. Just not very often and half-heartedly. I was used up-but I didn’t give up,

Because, every once in a while, someone would comment bout how they wished I was still doing stuff. One friend called me an “excellent communicator”. She said it passingly, but right when I needed to hear it. Others have asked when they’re going to hear more music from me. Another told me that I have a “unique perspective” that I should share more often. “Unique perspective” being code, of course, for “loopy as a loon” but I’ll take that as a compliment.

So that brings us up to date. Over the past few months I have felt the creative juices stirring. More ideas are coming, I’m getting excited about the creative process. I think it’s finally time to jump back in to all the projects I have left sitting fallow and breathe life into them once again!

This blog is where it starts. Phase one, if you will. Why now? Why not? Why Mondays? Well, if the point of creating is to joyfully connect with others (and I believe it is) then what better day than a Monday to bring a little happy to your week? Also. Mondays are my day off from my “real job”, and since my wife is no longer working from home I can have access to the computer. But that doesn’t sound as cool.

So I’ll be checking in with you all every Monday until I run out of ideas or just plain forget. But I’m fired up-and I can’t wait to see you next week.

Spring is coming near. It is bringing change along with it. Can you sense it? Something’s in the air…

Do you feel it? Can you smell the change on the wind? Go ahead, breathe deep. Take a good strong whiff. Do you know what that smell is?

Wait.

No. Ew. Not that smell. That’s not what I was referring to. That’s uh, that’s… something else.

Alright, step over this way a minute. Okay now take a whiff. Got it? There you go. Know what that smell is? That’s the smell of Spring, my friend, the smell of newness. The smell of life returning to this desolate area. New ideas, new experiences, new thoughts and feelings to share. That is what is on it’s way to you here in this space.

Monday’s coming soon…see you then…