While taking my morning walk at the park yesterday I picked up a chat with a Malay lady in her seventies from the East Coast. She surprisingly told me that as she had discharged her responsibilities now she took the time for herself. She indulges in walking and after her walk chatting with some friends. This reminded me of Agathiyar who in carrying out our 60th birthday told my children to drop their dependency on us and told us to step into another phase of discovery of one's soul. On my evening walk around the neighborhood another Malay lady who was also from the East Coast state of Kelantan, stopped me to chat outside her home. She told me that though her grandma was in her nineties, she who was only 34 found it tough to climb stairs after succumbing to the recent Covid. It reminded me of a friend and devotee who felt the same being a victim of COVID-19 but managed to regain his strength and spirit and is now walking far. So I asked her to begin walking too, around the neighborhood for start. I have a Chinese neighbor who without fail would wake up at 5am and after looking at the needs of the Chinese deities at his home altar would leave his home at 6am for his daily walk and return an hour later.
We have to drive the point to others for the need to exercise or at least walk some distance each day. Much of our work revolves around the desk and office. As for the housewife, hours are spent in the kitchen and at home. Take some time off to take a walk. I was blessed that my work for the most part involved walking and climbing stairs and field work as I was in the projects. I guess that contributed to my good health. My father-in-law who is 87 and was in the estates still engages in his morning walk. My daughter and son-in-law take their children for hikes and walks whenever possible. One should realize that the freedom to walk is a blessing, and appreciate this freedom, after having had to stay indoors during the pandemic. Go walking and burn your illness and worries away.