I enjoy walking around the lakes on my own; it gives me a sense of freedom. I’m not beholden to anyone and can take as much or as little time as I like.
It is however good to break this up occasionally and I enjoy introducing new people to the lakes.
Last week I took my friend, Katy, ex-colleague and co-author, (we wrote “Wonder Women in Marketing” together) for an early morning stroll.
It was a glorious morning and this helped convince me that spring is really here. My descriptions of the weather go from freezing to cold, to chilly, to fresh as we move from winter to spring, and it was undoubtedly fresh.
Our conversation ranged far and wide and of course we talked about the lakes and the birds. Some of Katy’s questions I could answer, some were beyond my current knowledge, reminding me just how much more I have to learn.
Katy surprised herself by doing some bird watching, which she enjoyed, and that was probably even more of a surprise to her.
We were sitting in one of the hides watching the wind blow gentle ripples across the lake, the sun catching the top of them and making them sparkle, Canada geese were honking (nothing new), black-headed gulls were flying and swooping, and the tufted ducks were diving for food when Katy said, “Why does anyone need to pay for a meditation app or classes? They just need to come out here, go on a walk and re-connect with nature.”
Having done some work in the ASMH (anxiety, stress and mental health) market and knowing how big it is, how fast it is growing and the fact that over 80% of people claim to looking for products to help them cope, her almost throwaway comment really struck a chord.
It was a different take on my old three Cs of why I come to the lake – calming, contentment and connection to nature.
Footnote: The general nature of this blog is also a good excuse for me to have populated it with a general selection of pictures I took, rather than a themed selection.
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