Last winter on a random day, I was really upset after a long day of laboratory work. Instead of going home, I decided to walk for a while as an illuminating thought echoed in my brain, “Walk and don’t think. Just walk. Observe your surroundings and don’t allow your brain to drag you back to what is eating at your soul.” So, I took my own advice; I walked and it was comforting, even if short termed.

I walked slowly, breathed in the cold air, and enjoyed the wind on my face. Winter is when I feel alive the most. I came across a pet shop. Needless to say, I adore cats and admire dogs. I waited patiently outside, and I saw this cute Golden Retriever chained loosely. He was in dismay. It broke my heart and I wanted to set him free and provide him with a home. However,   I couldn’t. Sadly, I had to keep walking. I had to remind myself that I was walking to console my desolation, not add to it. Try as I might to forget this tiny encounter till this very day, I still remember exactly how sadly he looked at the abyss. (I walked by the same store a few weeks later and the cute Golden Retriever was gone. I prayed he was provided with a good loving home.)

Back to the walk, I saw a tree that was standing tall despite the fact that it lost all its leaves and I felt amazed. It looked magnificent and there an analogy came to me at that exact moment: despite being weak, without cover in the cold, it still stood tall, unshaken, facing the world with all its ugliness and darkness, willing to fight for its rightful existence in spite of its surroundings. I never really forgot that tree or what it taught me that day.

The walk was a success and though I may see things differently and though things hit me hard in the soul, I saw beauty in the world that day I didn’t know existed and I felt sympathy for a creature I didn’t become friends with (but hopefully he is in a better place.)

So my very advice to you, dear reader, is: every once in a while, walk and observe. It will teach you something and it will add to your experience, but if it didn’t, at least you gave you mind some rest.