Next time you go for a walk...

To begin with, pick a day when you are absolutely free. A day you won’t have to set a time limit. If you can find such an opportunity, grab it. Otherwise, you will have to purposely arrange such an occasion for yourself.

First and foremost, go alone! It’s good to spend some time away from everyone and everything. You will get to know yourself better. It’s important to become acquainted with your own self before being introduced to anyone else.

Before embarking on this journey, take a deep breath, gather your thoughts, put them in the corner of your mind and then take that first step out of the house. Once you ‘re out, start walking and do not look back. Let go of “before” and stop worrying about “after”. Focus on the now and be fully present.

Don’t plan where to go. You want to end up somewhere unexpected. Just choose a path and follow it to find out where it takes you. Don’t overthink it. Go with the flow. Maybe listen to your heart or rely on your instincts to guide you. You will never know if you never take the road. And if the fear of getting lost gets on your way; weren’t you lost anyway? Isn’t life all about that? Being lost? We are all lost. And will probably remain that way. Even when we reach a destination, we keep searching for new ones. Nothing is ever final because nothing is ever good enough.

Explore your surroundings. Examine what is happening around you. Listen to the sounds, smell the scented air and look as far as your eyes can see. Pay close attention to where every step takes you. Don’t worry about where you are going. Enjoy the journey because, at the end, the journey is what you are going to remember.

Don’t look at the time. Don’t rush yourself. Don’t walk too fast, because you don’t want to miss anything on the way. Don’t walk too slow either, or else you will remain static.

At some point, make sure to stop for a second. Have a look at where the road brought you. It doesn’t matter if you are in a busy city street or on an empty country road. It doesn’t matter if you are out in the nature or in the café around the corner. It doesn't matter if there are other people around you or not. Take a break and find a place to sit for a bit.

Gaze at the sky for a while. Magnificent, isn’t it? The sky is one of the things that are always beautiful, regardless of condition and time. Strangely enough, it makes you feel lonely and not alone at the same time. It’s like you ‘re all by yourself under this seemingly never-ending vastness, but, at least, the sky is there as well to give you comfort. And it will always be there. Just like the earth under your feet.

Even though they have that in common, the truth is that the sky and the earth ca never be compared. The reason for that is that the sky, although reachable, is untouchable. The earth can never be as clean, as clear and as serene as the sky. The earth is a shelter. It provides warmth and solace.

The sky doesn’t have any secrets despite being a secret itself. Or maybe it’s more like a fairy tale. Perfect but not real. Or it could just be an illusion. A sweet, sanguine illusion. The sky gives hope. It promises better days. It gives courage to keep you going. It signifies that there’s more than you can see, there’s more to see.

When you are done lounging around, you can find your way back home. But again, don’t go off in a hurry. Leave as you came; calm, carefree and empty. Yes, empty. Don’t take anything back, except for this emptiness in your heart and mind. This is the best thing you can possibly gain from such walks. Emptiness can be really good for you, especially if you get way too occupied with life. It lifts every kind of excess weight you might be carrying to make place for new, more valuable and perhaps lighter burdens.

Remember to take your time while filling up the space though. Enjoy it for as long as possible. Always try to keep an area empty. Don't overload yourself. Trust me, it makes life easier. Living in the moment and then letting go. When you learn how to do that, you will have unlocked the door to substantial happiness.