Walk In Your Name

For this walk, I called a distant friend and asked them how I could walk through this world differently. We had a deep discussion about how people are just in their heads and negative all of the time. So, they want me to be extra nice to the people I encounter on my walk and take pictures of anything that brings me hope. I met this friend on an online chatting website out of boredom, and I am so glad that I met him because our phone calls always make my day.

Anyway, I started this walk by putting on calming frequency music. It is said that a higher frequency exists in those who are blissful and focused. I just think this got me in the right headspace for the walk since music has the potential to prolong whatever state you’re in. I wasn’t walking in any specific path, just allowing the energies I was feeling to guide me.

This mindset made me more open-minded and notice things that made me happy in my environment. It’s almost as if I was getting good vibes from the environment. It felt like nature would open up these moments in time to really see its beauty and be appreciative of the world around me. Usually, during these walking exercises, I just walk without taking a second to take in my environment, but this mindset helps you take care of yourself and depriving yourself of rest. This was one of the first walks where I felt happy and returned me to why I love taking walks in the first place!

When I took my walk breaks, I was very interested in taking photos of trees. I remember when I was younger and hugged a tree and told my mom, “I could feel the tree’s energy.” She looked at me crazily, but years later, scientists discovered that trees and plants do communicate with one another and can sense when they are being touched. So, I have a different perspective on how I view trees. Their position with other trees also interests me. When two trees can be side by side, I always think that they are getting along well with each other. Here are my favorite photos of trees I took (notice how I was noticing synchronicities between myself and the environment):

The Peace Tree

Here are two trees that stuck out to me. To me, they kind of looked like someone doing the piece sign. I think two trees that are able to exist alongside each other is a good representation of co-existence in nature.

Light Pouring through the Trees

Here is when I took a second to breathe outside of the Douglass Building. I like this image because the light seems to be shooting out from the sky like it was painted in a swift brushstroke.

Synchronicities

I noticed that trees were standing out to me a lot. I was also wearing my tree necklace. I think I have to come to terms that I am obsessed with trees.

As I was walking, I kept seeing these planes fly overhead. With the clouds overhead, it captured my eye and I was so quick to whip out my phone to take a picture. I especially like the glare in that it caught within the bottom half of the picture. I feel like it added an interesting touch. This plane reminded me of a friend that is currently in France doing an internship right now. I am always so happy to see her updates and having fun on her summer vacation. The plane also reminded me of the first time I ever flew on a plane with my brother when we were kids. We were going to visit our family back in Georgia and I remember being glad I wasn’t alone.

I got the chance to see a road runner crossing the street. He was so fast and wasn’t able to take a picture of him. However, just a few seconds after, another one came passing by and I was able to take a quick snapshot of it.

At first, when I was passing strangers, I was scared to come up with things to say. I would let them pass, and this would dampen my mood, so I just started by waving. Sometimes, they’d wave, nod, or completely ignore me. Either way, I was slowly becoming more positive in interacting with people. A good method I developed was stopping them to ask for directions and genuinely complimenting them on their outfits or smiles. There were two instances where I learned more about people’s lives and connected with them on various topics. One person recommended a new Asian place to try for this Asian history class I am also taking. This not only made me feel happy, but I could tell my words and presence made their day (ditto). After my walk, I made a reference poster on spreading positivity and being kind:

Making this poster, I was able to map out a few ways to be spread this actively positive mindset.