Resetting Myself with Meditation at Kensington Metropark

Introduction

Hey everyone, it’s been a long while since I posted my last blog post — it’s been a few years. I have been telling myself that I need to write more and been meaning to since early last year. But, things in life has either “got in my way” or I was distracted by external factors. Thinking about what I could have done in the past doesn’t matter now — as that’s the past. What matters is this present moment. We don’t live in the past and we don’t live in the future — we live right now!

Since the last time I posted on Transcending Footsteps, I have become a new person. A few years ago, I saw myself as someone different — Now, I consider myself to be spiritual. I’m a spiritual being having a human experience. What does that mean exactly? What does it mean to be spiritual? Being spiritual means to be fully present in the moment and letting go of control. Spirituality is about relaxing into the experience you’re having, letting your thoughts pass through you and not giving in to your inner voice (the mind).

Being spiritual is learning how to clear your mind, opening your heart, and experiencing this moment. The core of Spirituality is love — Love yourself, love the universe you are a part of, and love the present moment. Love the experience your having no matter what happens. You get to create your own reality. If you sit from your center seat of Self (spirit, soul, consciousness, whatever you want to call it), you will become aware of your thoughts and learn to let them go, you will be aware of your awareness.

Getting back to my past, I must say that my Self was “spiritual” in that I knew there was life after this life. But, I didn’t think too much about it, I was more concern with taking classes at an art school in Georgia and working on multiple student projects — I even landed a job working on a feature film from going to this school (more about that in a future post). During that time, I had more fear and anxieties and you could say some “bad things” became out of my control. Fast forward, I left school and moved back to Michigan. I needed at reset and here I am. The events in my life are not happening to me, they are happening for me.

Last year (2023), I slowly discovered and learned how to become spiritual. It’s still a learning process. But today, it’s late January and I decided to take a day off from work and spend a day with myself by going to my local park at Kensington Metropark. My experience today was to relax into the moment, take a stroll outside, and be fully present through meditating with walking around the park. Resetting myself with meditation at Kensington Metropark is what I needed.

A Quiet Relaxing Walk

Starting off my day, I didn’t know what I wanted to do. A passion of going to the park is what I wanted to experience. So with that plan, I got coffee, and drove 30 minutes to Kensington Metropark. The drive down the interstate was relaxing, I could feel the calmness of being in the smooth traffic. I arrived at my destination, technically I parked in Island Lake Recreation Area and walked over into Kensington. The two parks are right next to each other and connected.

Starting my walk through the melting snow on this “warmer” winter day was nice. The air was calm and the fresh smell took over my senses. It wasn’t long before I was “technically” in Kensington. Occasionally, my thoughts would come over me — But, I relaxed into the moment and let the thoughts be what they are. As I continued down the paved path, there was a few other people walking the trail — even someone fishing on the lake ice.

Meditating: Looking at the Pond

It was a quiet day and I enjoyed every second of it. Continuing down the winding trail past the parking lot, I arrived at the nature trail segment. The crunching snow was noticeable as I walked on the boardwalk alongside the icy nature pond. I found a bench to sit down despite it being wet as I didn’t really mind. My plan was to meditate while taking in the view of the pond. After a short while, I became more present in the moment that I was experiencing. My thoughts were there, thinking about what I would do later in my day, but I managed to let these thoughts pass and eventually my mind became still. I would take a deep breath in, let out an exhale, and really feel the bottom of my breath.

Resetting Myself with Meditation at Kensington Metropark

I sat there just experiencing what I was seeing — taking it all in. My senses became more aware — Hearing the sounds, feeling the cold air, feeling the bench, and noticing the people and cars passing by. For the most part, it was a quiet moment. I remember staring into the distance, looking at the pond, looking at the tree line, and admiring all of it intensely — Really feeling the experience that’s in front of me and relaxing into it.

After sitting there for what was probably over 30 minutes, I could feel that I was calm, relaxed, and in a happier state. This was by no means a deep meditation; regardless, meditating in some capacity is what I needed. Overall, it was a success, meditating whether deep or not is better than not meditating. Eventually, I got myself up and walked around the park taking in the experience of being there. I walked back to my car and headed back home.

Wrapping Things Up

Meditating is something everyone should try — it will feel relaxing and take away your worries. Taking a day off from work and spending it with myself by going to the park is what needed to happen. Being fully present through meditation and wandering the trails of Kensington definitely made my Soul feel higher. All in all, resetting myself with meditation at Kensington Metropark was blissful.