Thursday, July 10, 2025

Thursday, July 10, 2025

Walking after sunrise and before sunset is popular. But have you walked at night when the sky is ink black-blue and stars are twinkling brightly, or when the moon is full? If you have, you will know how nighttime walks heighten our senses of hearing and smell, titillate our body and mind.

In the dark, the sense of sight diminishes but hearing takes over. Focus on the breath, and the inner stillness feels stronger in darkness. Slow your pace, stop, tilt your head upward and gaze at expanse of stars. Wonderment! Awe!

You have to walk under the majesty of the night sky to feel its serenity and magical spell. It clears the mind, it calms, even makes you forget petty problems that had, earlier in the day, made you anxious. The coolness of the night, the tranquility of the silver moon, or the coolness of the full moon not only frees you from stress but, at times, also surprises you by resolving a problem floating in your mind.

I remember the night we spent at the Safari Lodge in Tsavo National Park in Kenya. Under the night sky the tables were set for dinner on the bank of Tsavo lake that reflected two blazing bonfires that provided light as we ate. When I looked up, the firmament, immense and dark, twinkled with billions of stars. They seemed so close to earth that I stood up from where I was sitting to touch the sky – that’s how close it felt to me… like if I tried, I could pluck a twinkling star from the depths of darkness and hold it in the palms of my hands.

Walking through a well-maintained cemetery is another unique experience. Observing the headstones and monuments of those who have gone before us not only grounds us but also there is a feeling of serenity that stirs contemplation.

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For my preliminary exams for my doctoral work, I was to collect the rubbings from the headstones from three New England cemeteries. My topic was symbols and rituals of death from four different cultures. I didn’t find these resting places of long-gone ancestors morbid or depressing. On the contrary, walking through these was calming and tranquil. After making drawings and collecting rubbings, I was inspired to take longer walks on the pathways that webbed the greenery. The moment we’re born, we begin our journey toward death. Each human life’s path might be vastly different, but it ends the same way. 

Whenever you get a chance, walk peacefully through a cemetery and observe the resting places of those who have passed on. Contemplate your own death – not in a morbid way but to mull over how you can make your life even better than it already is. There is something about such a contemplative walk that gives courage to face your own mortality. You feel heightened appreciation for each new day, and a deeper connection with your loved ones… and even strangers who lived once but have now left this world. With such an attitude, you live more fully and make stronger connection with your deeper Self.