As much as I love walking, sometimes it can lead to rumination rather than restfulness. Being an over-thinker extraordinaire, sometimes walks will turn into a “mull over everything until you can’t feel your face” expedition. I have to look for things to bring me back from the brink.
I’ll be so engrossed in my own little world of made up scenarios, anticipatory antics, and a laundry list of things that haven’t happened but could. Or worse, I might run into someone I know, forced into small talk *the actual worst*. By the end of the stroll, my shoulders are scrunched up auditioning for the role of earrings.
It’s in moments like this, city advertisements get cheeky and rather poignant. A few weeks ago, I was on the bus, starting to worry about the contents of the next day when I looked up to see an ad saying, “Focus on the here and now” – a little on the nose if you ask me. The accurate message was heard. Begrudgingly, I gave into the adorable mother-daughter duo on the poster, smiling their worries away as they sign up for life insurance. Who wouldn’t be smiling!? I imagine them chatting;
Mom: So sweetie, not to alarm you, but I will eventually die.
Daughter: It’s okay mom, I know. I’ve been watching Game of Thrones with my big brother so I know what’s up.
*both throw their heads back and laugh.
Besides sanguine bus ads, I like to use common street signs as a way to check in. Sometimes, when I see a stop sign on a walk, I’ll use it to quite literally stop whatever current cycle of thoughts I’m churning over. I’ll ask the question, “Are these thoughts helpful? If not, let’s push them into oncoming traffic, shall we?”
More often than not, when I come across a stop sign, I’ll use it as a chance to slow down my mind by saying,
“I don’t know.”
I find this to be a choice phrase when I need to cease useless worries, or predictive thinking. It’s incredibly liberating to say out loud, quite possibly unnerving innocent bystanders. I recommend forcibly speaking the above three words with bravado, to no one in particular. (For all others know, you could be a douche bag on a blue tooth! The future is now).
Graffiti usually provides the best messages of awakening. Especially in downtown Toronto, there are little notes of “Love” or the sporadic “Lovebot” sprinkled on the walls of buildings or sprayed on boarded up walkways near construction sites. Scattered throughout Kensington market you can look down to see itty bitty sassy red hearts on the side walk with “Fuck I love you” inside. I can think of no better way to be knocked back into the present moment, than by a tiny, reckless heart swearing its undying love for you.
Sometimes I’ll be out for a jaunt and synchronicity starts happening all around me.
I think something, only to see it pop up on a sidewalk sandwich board. I remember someone, only to see their face in a stranger’s eyes. My absolute favorite is being in a funky mood and I see a dog. Immediate smile. Even if I want to be in a bad mood, it’s physically impossible for me to do so if a dog is within 50 feet of me. And there are a lot of dogs in downtown Toronto. Damn it.
It’s moments like these, when the city and its inhabitants call me back home to myself. I won’t lie. There are some days I’m at odds with city life. The hustle, the humans, the need to hurry and worry. But on the days when things just click, flow and speak to me – it is a wonder-filled place to live.
The little signs make a big difference.
