Walking - It's More Than You Think: The Art of Walking

Living simply means discovering things you put aside in your consumer/materialism/rat-race life, and one of those great, great discoveries for me was walking. 

Not just walking down the street, though I live in a very pretty, tree-filled neighborhood.  Walking in nature, sometimes with friends and sometimes not, and always with dogs.  There's something wonderous and magical about it - the quiet, the beauty, the peacefulness.  It's medicinal, it's refreshing, it's wonderous.

Today is Sunday.  Maybe you have to drive to find Nature.  So do it.  Take some bottled water and some fruit, maybe a bag of nuts.  Your dogs, your kids, yourself.  Maybe your journal, maybe your camera.  Just GO. 

Learn what walking in Nature will give you.

I'm not the only one who's discovered this.  Henry David Thoreau used to go around giving lectures on the benefits of taking long walks, and after awhile, he took those lectures and published an essay entitled (simply) "Walking."  It's in the public domain now, and you can read it in its entirety online. 

(For more on walking, check out the American Volkssport Association as well as the Top Ten Walks (Walking Trails) in the USA for 2009.  )

Now, back to Walking.  Here's how Mr. Thoreau starts off:

I wish to speak a word for Nature, for absolute freedom and wildness, as contrasted with a freedom and culture merely civil--to regard man as an inhabitant, or a part and parcel of Nature, rather than a member of society. I wish to make an extreme statement, if so I may make an emphatic one, for there are enough champions of civilization: the minister and the school committee and every one of you will take care of that.

Buying Used Furniture - My Search for a Comfy Reading Chair

I've tweeted about my growing obsession with creating a little corner with the perfect reading light, the perfect side table, and the perfect reading chair ... something that is sorta like my favorite chair at Barnes & Noble. 

Now, I'm off to find the chair and I thought I'd share how this trek is working out.

I've already surfed the web quite a bit, and yepper -- there's lots and lots of chairs online.  I've checked new ones in clearance and old ones in vintage.  I've looked over EBay, too.  The problem is, I need to test out my chair.  It's got to be a cozy fit, and what with shipping charges there's no way that I'm going to test driving chair after chair from these online options.

So, I'm left to scour the city. 

I've begun my roaming thru my favorite furniture consignment shops.  So far, nothing's been just right (call me Goldilocks, I'm that picky here) but that's par for shopping consignment.  You learn to check their inventory every so often, because it's always changing and never the same.  I'm writing up a little description of My Perfect Reading Chair, and I'm going to leave it with these stores so hopefully, they'll call me when something hits their docks.  I keep my fingers crossed.

I've also started going by a couple of resale places that provide funds for charities.  Boysville has a local resale shop that can be great or horrid, depending on the day.  Salvation Army has a pretty reliable used ("reconditioned") furniture store, and I'm going to pop in there later today. 

Finally, there are the estate sales, garage sales, and the like.  I'm pondering these but I'll need my friend S and S's big humungo SUV for these treks.  You gotta tote away your finds here, and My Perfect Reading Chair won't fit in my car.  No way, no how.

I'll keep you posted. 

Happiness Prevents Heart Disease According to New Study

In today's news, there's a lot of media coverage of a new research study done by American researchers and published in the European Heart Journal that happiness prevents heart disease.

In other words, happy people don't get heart attacks, according to these findings.

Now, we've already heard about eating more fruits and veggies, eating whole grains, and avoiding bad fats to avoid heart disease.  And there was recent news coverage of another study that pointed to adequate levels of Vitamin D as preventing both heart attacks and diabetes. 

Well, seems to me that living a life of simplicity could be said to prevent heart disease, too.  Living a simple life, as least as I've been doing it, means things like:

Getting some sunshine every day (sunshine is an excellent source of Vitamin D);
Eating lots of fresh vegetables and fruits (even juicing them);
Getting stress out of your life (and keeping it out); and
choosing to live a life that is peaceful, focused, and appreciative of daily blessings.