Mindfully walking breeds creativity–Walk 7, Yr 3, Fresno City, Tower, 3/11/17

By fmw

Mindfulness walkers gathered on the campus of Fresno City College, Saturday morning, March 11, 2017, to begin a 4 mile route through central Fresno.  Walking without talking to other walkers is sometimes a challenge at first.  But after walking this way for a few weeks, or even just a few miles, walkers often describe how their senses of awareness and observation are awakened.  Walkers describe exercising their ‘awareness muscles’ allowing them to notice, enjoy, and benefit from knowing details they had previously overlooked.

Walkers describe opening new channels of creative thinking by walking mindfully.  Walkers describe how creativity can be inhibited during the grind and stress of a busy week.  Intentional awareness while walking, and not talking, allows new mental connections and creative thinking to emerge.  Walkers describe having insights and finding solutions that had previously eluded them.

Walks described their observations on this walk:

Reminiscing about history – remembering younger days living in the Tower district.
Walkers noticed fresh camellia pedals placed around the base of a tall palm tree and wondered at the meaning.
Walkers loved the full and flowing canal – sights and sounds were peaceful.  A walker described living and working in and near the Fresno City campus, and having never experienced it in such a peaceful state.
Walkers were pleasantly surprised to see:  the Loft event center, Patino Entrepreneurial High School, murals and other public art, busy Tower district, Rogue festival performer, graffiti art on the wall by the tracks, unique and interesting houses in the Tower neighborhood, Saturday Sports volunteers and many children at Anthony Elementary school, and the beautiful Fresno City College campus.    Walkers saw the small portable buildings that currently house Fresno Unified’s Design Science College Prep High School.  (Plans are in the works to move Design Science into new facilities on the Fresno City College campus!)  Walkers smelled lilac, cigars, and Chicken Pie Shop cooking.
Walkers also witnessed desperate people with shopping carts, belongings and bedding, a dead dog by the tracks, a woman sleeping on a bus stop bench, stark contrast of cement with few trees, plants, or grasses in the southeast quadrant of Blackstone and McKinley which is predominantly industrial and salvage businesses with tiny homes tucked between storage yards and train tracks.  Walkers noticed ‘camps’ of tents and belongings along the tracks.
Walkers stopped to notice the details of beautiful murals that they had sped by many times.   Walker described how much there is to see when you walk and pay attention, as compared to driving by quickly with other things on your mind.
A walker described walking and witnessing Fresno as a joyful experience because of the beauty and effort, while also being heartbroken when seeing people in desperate circumstances.
“Walking around Fresno City College and the neighborhood streets in the Tower District was an experience that I probably would not have chosen to do so on my own. But I was given the opportunity to see wonderful art, various lifestyles, and a community living together with each other.”  Tami
“Watching the ocean is my number one way to release creative thoughts. I was surprised to have it happen on a walk in Fresno.”  FMWalker
The walks ends with the reminder that we have walked in close proximity with more of our brothers and sisters in Fresno, and all of our lives and futures are tied together.  May this reminder stay with us in conversations and decisions throughout the week.

Facebook photo album:  https://www.facebook.com/pg/fresnomindfulnesswalks/photos/?tab=album&album_id=1921370694816342

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