It’s a beautiful day, as I walk going outside to buy some food to the nearby food store this morning. I saw a woman sitting in a chair near the gate. She looks so tired, sweaty, and looking down at her feet while stretching her arms. Perhaps she was so tired carrying her loads (the things she bought). She has two echo bags beside her, and she looks so deep. She might be thinking of what to cook or prepare for their meal. Furthermore, she might be thinking about her problems. Likewise, she might be thinking about life, or she might be thinking about other people whom she is serving or obliged to serve.

All of these are just “might” because I don’t know what the woman is thinking at the moment, but if you look into her eyes, you will guess some. Every so often we can see it through the eyes what the heart wants to tell, and the body feels like. As I walk near her, I smiled and asked if she is fine. The woman answered me back, I’m fine, don’t worry, I just have to seat for a while, I think I need a moment to rest my feet, before walking again to reach our home, she said. This time we cannot ride any passenger vehicle to reach our home, it’s not allowed yet in our community because of the current situation regarding Covid-19 (I wrote this post during the pandemic). For me, it’s ok because I loved brisk walking anyway. Brisk walking is a good form of exercise that could benefit our body. It can contribute in achieving a healthy mind, it’s a good stress reliever, it’s a way for me to breathe some fresh air outside, and it also helps our body achieve a good blood circulation.

I told her, take time and take care Auntie, walk again when you already feel energized, she said thank you. Then I continued to walk, going to the food store. Going home, I reflected about the woman, I don’t know her personally, but she is one representation of a life’s journey, I think in life we really need to take time, we must not be rushing. Taking time means you don’t need to race, you don’t need to move fast, it’s ok to be slow, it’s ok to be late, you don’t need to rush. It’s ok to take the long road, and it’s ok not to be ok.

With all the pressures and challenges around us. We seem to compete, we seem to be proving ourselves to other people. You don’t need to prove yourself to other people, you don’t need to do things to be praise by anybody or anyone. If you are tired, then get some rest, get some moment to free yourself from worries and to energize your mind and body. You only have one body to maintain for a lifetime. When this body exhausted, you will experience a lot of health problems that might give you a flashback to how you treated it, so take care of it, appreciate and love that one body.