On a holiday morning, while walking along a farm road, I thought, 'I am blessed.'

I started a diet.

The trigger was a visit to a cardiovascular clinic.
Looking at my weight, body fat percentage, and health checkup numbers, I thought it was time to seriously get my life in order.

So, I started walking in the morning.

At first, it was to lose weight.
It was to improve my blood test results.
It was to become even a little healthier.

However, since I started walking every morning, there has been a bigger change than I expected.

It is not just a change in weight.
It is that the way I perceive the morning hours has changed.

My walking course includes a farm road along a river.
There are few utility poles, and there isn't much traffic.
When I walk, I hear the birds.
I hear the insects.
From the rice fields, I hear the frogs.
I also hear the sound of the river flowing.

At first, I was surprised that the birds were singing so much.
I also wondered if the frogs had been croaking this much in the morning rice fields all along.

I suspect they have been singing all along.
It's just that I wasn't listening.

If you pass by in a car, you won't notice.
If you are listening to music with earphones, you won't notice.
If you are in a hurry while thinking about work, you won't notice.

But in the morning, if you just walk, you can hear them.
The birds, the frogs, the sound of the river, and the sound of the wind.

When I am out for my morning walk, I often see people walking with earphones on.
Of course, I think that is fine too.
If you walk while listening to music, your mood might lift.
If you listen to a podcast, it can also be a learning experience.

However, for me right now, I want to walk without listening to anything at all.

You can listen to music anywhere.
You can listen in the car.
You can listen at home.
You can listen during breaks at work.

But the sounds along the river in the morning can only be heard on that morning, in that place.

The sunlight, the feel of the wind, the scent of the rice fields, the flow of the river, the songs of the birds, the croaking of the frogs.
Unless you make a conscious effort, these things easily disappear from your life.

Last Sunday, I took a slightly longer route and walked for about 40 minutes.
At that moment, it suddenly occurred to me.

Right now, I am not working during this time.
Even so, my salary is guaranteed.
I am given the time that is a holiday.
While walking along the farm road in the morning, I am able to use my time for my own health.

Isn't this, in fact, a very blessed thing?

When I was young, I didn't have the luxury of thinking that way.
Working was a given, being busy was a given, and on my days off, I often just spent them sleeping because I was tired.
When I worked as a site supervisor, I also experienced long working hours.
There was a time when I couldn't get work out of my head even on my days off.

That is precisely why I feel grateful for this morning time.

Of course, being a company employee has its own difficulties.
As long as you work within an organization, there are many things that do not go as you wish.
There is responsibility.
There are human relationships.
There are numbers.
It is not as if I have no anxiety about the future at all.

Even so, while walking along the farm road on a holiday, I suddenly think.

Am I not actually quite blessed?

I have a monthly salary.
I have social insurance.
I have days off.
I have a place to work.
I have a job where I can utilize my experience.
I have a family.
I have a body that can walk in the morning.
I have the luxury of being able to think about changing my lifestyle out of concern for my health.

Things I thought were taken for granted are actually not taken for granted.

The birds' songs, the frogs' croaks, and the sound of the river were there before.
The stability as a company employee and the time on holidays were also there before.
But I had not noticed them.

I feel that by starting walking, I am gaining more than just losing weight.

It is a time when I can affirm my life a little.
It is a time when I can feel grateful for where I stand now.
It is a time to rediscover things I had overlooked in the busyness.

Morning walking that I started for dieting.
However, as I continued, it has become more than just exercise.

Bathing in the morning light.
Feeling the wind.
Listening to the birds' songs.
Listening to the frogs' croaks.
Listening to the sound of the river.
And, reflecting on my life just a little.

It has become that kind of time.

I think my weight will continue to fluctuate in the future.
My body fat percentage will likely change from day to day as well.
There will be days when I worry about the salt in my diet, and I think there will be days when the numbers do not move as I would like.

But I want to continue the habit of walking in the morning as much as possible.

That is not just for my health.
It is also to confirm where I am standing right now.

Walking along the farm road on a holiday morning, I thought.

I am more blessed than I thought.

I think that just being able to realize that made starting to walk well worth it.