One thing I’m quickly noticing in myself as I continue doing my nightly walks without Stella is an increased pace.
I’m walking much faster by myself than I did when she was with me.
I don’t know if it’s a subconscious attempt to complete the task—as though it’s obligatory—but I have to consciously remind myself to slow down… as she would do for me when she would stop to pee or smell pee or stalk a bunny or whatever.
I don’t want these walks to feel obligatory.
I don’t want anything I do to feel obligatory.
And the best antidote I’m finding to that obligatory instinct, counterintuitively, is to slow down the very thing I’m trying to expedite.
Not being in a rush to finish is an excellent sign that you’re enjoying the process—the moment (life)—for what it is.