September 2001
Week one

I am up to ten miles a day now. I'm not sure if I will be up to 12 by the time I leave but I think I'm close enough so that it won't make a big difference. I have walked about 150 miles since I started and I feel good. These practice walks have been more enjoyable than I thought they would be because they are so meditative. When I walk I let my mind go were ever it wants to go. Sometimes I walk on autopilot and I am surprised by how much time and distance has gone by when I finally connect with my surroundings again. When I reached six miles a day I started taking my dog with me only on the morning walks. Each morning we start a daybreak when the sky is glowing but the sun still below the horizon. Each night I start at sunset just as the sun is starting to slip below the horizon and walk into darkness.

I like walking at these times when the light is changing. In the morning the light starts out as different shades of pink and turns yellow as the sky brightens. At dusk, the light is a soft yellow/orange that slowly dims as the sky fades to dark. At both times, the world is quiet and pauses as the day slides from one state to its next. The early morning is a deep intake of a breath just before the day explodes into life. At twilight, it is a soft exhale as day relaxes and prepares for sleep.

One morning I stand in a spot that lets me see for miles to the east. I am waiting for the sun to rise. This morning I decide to focus on the fact that the sun is not "rising" but standing still as the earth rotates towards it . I concentrate on the line that the horizon makes and a sliver of sun appears. Then more of the sun materializes so quickly that I feel the land rushing forward at a speed that causes me to lose my balance, and I take a quick step back to keep from falling. For an instant I am afraid that the speed of the earth turning will overcome the force of gravity and that I will be hurled into space. The whole thing is exhilarating and I laugh. Who needs drugs when you have a mind that works the way mine does?