My Walk Club

Walking Through Death.

Ron Nallon — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 14:30:02 +0000

Terri and I walked again at 5am and it was so nice and cool. Sleepy little Edinburg was just beginning to stir. The campground down on the creek had a tent half down but I suppose the people were still sleeping. The ducks and geese congregate at night up stream by the mill, so they won't be down by the campground till day breaks through. The walk was nice and always I think about stuff.

Someone asked me last night what I really liked to do. I can't say what my first choice was but meeting people was the second. Introverts are not supposed to be that way so list me as a recovering introvert.

In meeting people there is joy and sadness. In a trio of short stories I have begun, experiencing death is the subject. Two of the stories Terri and I were there and the last one we knew the family. All three spoke to a part of me, which I had ignored. Death is not a warm and fuzzy, but it seems a time when we can give a gift to each other. I might even describe death as beautiful.

Love, life and death can intersect is such a way, that we release each other with peace. I believe people always remain a part of us, even when we don't see it. It seems we are designed that way.

Hopefully I won't chase anyone off with these stories but I will post them one by one.

Keep walkin,

Ron

Walking Once More With Feeling!

Ron Nallon — Wed, 21 Jul 2010 16:00:12 +0000

I am trying to do better at blogging. Again! So here goes.

This morning was a great walk. The clouds were keeping the sunrise from heating everything up too quickly. It was humid and misty by Stoney Creek but wonderful too. The rain from yesterday has added a zip to the flora and fauna. Even the female ducks were gathered together in Stoney Creek having their own hen party. I guess the guys ticked them off! lol

Anyway I also watched an interesting movie on netflix called "Up49". It is a documentary about english school children in the 60's who they have been filming every 7 years till they are now 49. The scary part is the kids pretty much said what they were going to do and did it.

I thought I was the only idiot savant of life but it looks like there is more where I came from. Maybe we are designed this way, OMG! There must be a god because we would be extinct by now.

It would be nice to be one of those people who embrace life with every fiber of their being rather than it feeling like a bucket of water (sometimes COLD) being thrown at you daily. Not that I am complaining because my life is wonderful but being more courageous would be nice for a change.

Alas I digress. The walk was great. I met Mark and Noel along the way. We walked several hills and that is my attempt at exercise and being more courageous.

Keep walkin and try a dollop of courage today! lol

Ron

Walking Blog Buddies

Ron Nallon — Sat, 09 Jan 2010 15:45:25 +0000

I had several requests to pick up the pace on writing again so I will try harder. Noel is always telling me to pick up the pace when we walk. Women walk faster than men is my theory. As I write that, a memory from long ago walking with my Aunt Louise, from her restaurant to her uniform shop and barely being able to keep up with her comes flying back. Did I mention my mother won a walking contest when she was a teenager?

One email I received mentioned that my walking seemed like fun and not work. Well it may have seemed like a labor when I started years ago but now I do look forward to walking. Your body has chemical reactions when you walk that help to destress, but more importantly your perspective is changed by the changing world around you. Last spring when the country seemed depressed as a whole, life was blooming each morning as I walked. Forsythia and crocus were in bloom, but also the ducks and geese had their young swimming in trim lines behind them. New life, new hope seemed to be the theme. Even now I am looking forward to that transformation this spring.

Our personal worlds are such a small part of the grand procession happening all around us. Go take a walk and enjoy that procession. Be a part of it.

Keep Walkin,

Ron

Walking Through Life With Kids

Ron Nallon — Sat, 02 Jan 2010 14:27:31 +0000

I don't really care much for emails that if you don't send it out immediately something bad will happen to you. It almost seems like your passing along a curse disguised in a gift wrapped box. However I recieved this from my cousin and thought I would share it.

Keep Walkin,

Ron

What Love means to a 4-8 year old . .

Slow down for three minutes to read this. It is so worth it.

Touching words from the mouth of babes.

A group of professional people posed this question to a group of 4 to 8 year-olds,

'What does love mean?'

The answers they got were broader and deeper than anyone could have imagined

See what you think:

'When my grandmother got arthritis, she couldn't bend over and paint her toenails anymore. So my grandfather does it for her all the time, even when his hands got arthritis too.. That's love.'

Rebecca- age 8

'When someone loves you, the way they say your name is different.
You just know that your name is safe in their mouth.'

Billy - age 4

'Love is when a girl puts on perfume and a boy puts on shaving cologne and they go out and smell each other.'

Karl - age 5

'Love is when you go out to eat and give somebody most of your French fries without making them give you any of theirs.'

Chrissy - age 6

'Love is what makes you smile when you're tired.'

Terri - age 4

'Love is when my mommy makes coffee for my daddy and she takes a sip before giving it to him, to make sure the taste is OK.'

Danny - age 7

'Love is when you kiss all the time. Then when you get tired of kissing, you still want to be together and you talk more. My Mommy and Daddy are like that.
They look gross when they kiss'

Emily - age 8

'Love is what's in the room with you at Christmas if you stop opening presents
and listen.'

Bobby - age 7 (Wow!)

'If you want to learn to love better, you should start with a friend who you hate,'

Nikka - age 6
(we need a few million more Nikka's on this planet)

'Love is when you tell a guy you like his shirt, then he wears it everyday.'

Noelle - age 7

'Love is like a little old woman and a little old man who are still friends even after they know each other so well.'

Tommy - age 6

'During my piano recital, I was on a stage and I was scared. I looked at all the people watching me and saw my daddy waving and smiling.

He was the only one doing that. I wasn't scared anymore.'

Cindy - age 8

'My mommy loves me more than anybody
You don't see anyone else kissing me to sleep at night.'

Clare - age 6

'Love is when Mommy gives Daddy the best piece of chicken.'

Elaine-age 5

'Love is when Mommy sees Daddy smelly and sweaty and still says he is handsomer than Robert Redford.'

Chris - age 7

'Love is when your puppy licks your face even after you left him alone all day.'

Mary Ann - age 4

'I know my older sister loves me because she gives me all her old clothes and has to go out and buy new ones.'

Lauren - age 4

'When you love somebody, your eyelashes go up and down and little stars come out of you.' (what an image)

Karen - age 7

'Love is when Mommy sees Daddy on the toilet and she doesn't think it's gross.'

Mark - age 6

'You really shouldn't say 'I love you' unless you mean it. But if you mean it, you should say it a lot. People forget.'

Jessica - age 8

And the final one

The winner was a four year old child whose next door neighbor was an elderly gentleman who had recently lost his wife.

Upon seeing the man cry, the little boy went into the old gentleman's yard, climbed onto his lap, and just sat there.

When his Mother asked what he had said to the neighbor, the little boy said,

'Nothing, I just helped him cry'

Walk? Whose Walking?

Ron Nallon — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 19:02:25 +0000

Me that's who. If anyone is still out there it has gotten busy and people are looking at houses again. One couple is moving from California, people are retiring out of DC and first time home buyers are out in droves.

But I have missed my club here. So am wanting to start posting again.

My little tribe has been walking and has seen modest growth with one more body. The mornings are getting colder but it certainly helps to get you going for the day.

I also read a new book about walking. I think the fellow picked a subject out of hat and started writing though. The first chapter was good and amusing. The second chapter started stretching from the subject and it went downhill for me.

One good point he mentioned walking as a form of medication and cited a study saying 3 walks per week at 20 minutes each was better than all the drugs to fight depression. I think that is true.

Also we have been seeing more people out walking and I like that. It seems the beginning of becoming more connected. In a good way.

Till next time,

Keep walkin,

Ron

A Story About Finding Your Own Walk

Ron Nallon — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 11:06:20 +0000

Years ago as a young boy, I traveled with my parents back and forth to Pa almost every weekend. They remodeled a 4 apartment building into 10 units. My mother had a theory that if we lived in the unfinished part it would encourage us to work faster at finishing it.

So that meant living in the attic on weekends with the roof half open. It meant removing the rolls of insulation from our beds at night and living what I recall as a spartan life at times.

Once our work weekend was done we would slip into the car and head home for school and work. That was a whole new expedition. We would carry boards in the car, usually a station wagon. That way we could get up on I-81 before it was open. We would move or go around the barricades and then put the boards down and drive the car over them to enter or exit along the way.

Before I-81, the trip was several hours longer going through all the small towns. I-81 was the promise of a much shorter and easier trip. During those years for me, Pa was a place to get away from. So shorter was better and I was a willing accomplice.

So one rainy winters day we started home, tired and glad to be going. We made the pilgrimage to the unopened highway and started up the high mountain slope outside of Wilkes-Barre, Pa. Nearly to the top my father said the car was not acting right. Maybe it was the transmission. Looking over the valley it would be a long wait till help arrived. Dad stopped the car and started to get out. It wasn't the transmission but instead 3-4 inches of ice on the road. Instantly fear overwhelmed us. No guard rails, an unfinished roadway with 1-2 foot drop offs and nearly to top.

I cried to get out and walk but Dad would not let me. Somehow he backed that car down the mountain and got us off the frozen interstate.

My relationship with my parents is strained still. After many years they still want me to go for drives with them in that same vehicle. I won't.

In many ways my experiences are no better or worse than others, but the point is more what we learn from them. My life is very blessed now and has been for many years.

At some point in my life I got out of that car never to return. There have been many times when my parents wanted me to go for a drive. They don't understand but I have found my own way, my own walk.

So if you find yourself distressed, in a car going where you don't want to go. Just get out and start walking. Your own walk.

Keep walkin

Ron

New Life, New Walks

Ron Nallon — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 12:12:20 +0000

I have been busy with business so not many posts. Will try to do better. We have turned a corner with the economy as more people are returning to buying and especially homes. I have written 3 contracts over the last week and am showing more homes this weekend.

But that is not the most important stuff of life. Our walk or life is a gift to be explored and enjoyed. Even in the darkest of times and circumstances there is a way which we can find that which fulfills us. God is revealing himself as we interact with Him.

I found an interesting short film that I really liked called "Validation'.

http://bit.ly/JxsOm

It is my belief we were designed to be validators!

Keep walkin,

Ron

Walking For Fun

Ron Nallon — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 13:49:54 +0000

This whole blog may seem redundant but maybe that's who I am. Real Estate is starting to come out of the tail spin it was in for the last year. So I have actually been showing property and writing contracts.

In this upsurge of activity I have not given up walking. What I have found over the last couple years is that walking helps me to renew each day. Taking time to exercise, along with fellowship with Terri and friends is great.

Lately Terri and I get up about 5am and walk 3 or 4 miles. On the late nights it can be a struggle but overall it is nice just to be with the one you love. As Martha says "its a good thing".

Then I usually head back out with friends at 7am for another 4-5 mile jaunt.

Life is wonderful when you decide to live it! The exercise is good, you release any tensions you have, you are refreshed, the scenery is amazing. Your attitude for the day is expectant of new, wonderful things. Your perspective is healthy in balance. Your ying and yang are just downright HAPPY!

Example: Yesterday we had an appointment for Kathryn's oral surgery consultation on her wisdom teeth. Who knew we would be in the middle of hopefully the biggest love connection of the year. The surgeon was warm, friendly and SINGLE. He was receptive to meeting our friend. So now he and his office staff are coming to our house next week for dinner to meet our friend. There was electricity in the air so heavy you could cut it with a knife.

Now before the appointment, Terri and were having a minor but diverging discussion (she was ticked with me, I write smiling). Anyway we weren't so caught up in ourselves that we weren't open to fate. Like wild animals we caught the scent! Like white on rice! Ha Ha so much fun so little time!

Who knew walking could do so much?

Keep walkin,

Ron

A New Day Dawning. Live Man Walking!

Ron Nallon — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 20:21:48 +0000

We are all tired of bad news and how it affects each of us. It seems we have lived with it for too long. So I propose a moratorium on any more for rest of the month. So many people I met are wore out and I think a lot of it is the press and media. Hey folks they make money by keeping you stirred up. Good news does not sell.

So go out and take a walk the next time you are tempted to read a bad news story or watch the nightly news. See what a difference it makes in your mood and disposition.

My wife read a devotional this morning and the woman said one time when they had a new tv and when we used antennas they plugged it in to see a grey cloud. Her husband put a pair of rabbit ears on it and instantly it was a clear picture. She said that's just like prayer. Spend some time talking to God and see if things don't clear up. I think you can hear Him even better when you walk. There is a devotional picture painted each day if we will take time to watch and study it.

As to the news it is a new slant these days, the worst is over, maybe. Don't buy into it or will drive you nuts. Your life is your life. Don't allow others or circumstances to frame it for you.

Just take a walk,

Ron

Walking With Baxter Kruger A Theologian

Ron Nallon — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 14:12:50 +0000

I was listening to Baxter Kruger while walking. He is a theologian who was a student of Thomas Torrance in Scotland. Overall organised religion is a turnoff to me. Playing church is not a game I enjoy. I wish I could buy it, but my heart is not in it.

So Dr. Kruger is a breath of fresh air. One comment he made was about our enlightened state referring to how science and knowledge have brought us into a new era over the last hundred years or so (I am not a good historian so that hundred years is an estimate).

In all our knowledge we as individuals have been reduced to believing who and what we are make little or no difference in life or time. We believe in the insignificance of our beings (my quote not his). If that is true and I suspect it is, no wonder we have the mental issues and stress related symptoms of our day. Hopeless is as hopeless does.

Now the bright spot. Dr. Kruger says that is not true and in trinitarian thought the Father , Son and Holy Spirit invite us to share in their being. Which translated into our everyday lives means all the groaning and stresses we go through are all part of the creation coming to know Him. We aren't designed to play harps on clouds, or be placid waiting for GOD to take us off the shelf. He wants us to be one with Him.

My soul has rechewed for two years a statement that Torrance made, " The Trinity invites us to know them as they know themselves". I still can't explain that because I still don't perceive the depth of it. It is becoming visible in my minds eye though. Perhaps that is "salvation", our working out our relationship with the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

So if all that is true and I suspect it is, then we are important to our Creator. He invites us to relate to Him. Through the incarnation of Jesus Christ we have access to this relationship. While Jesus is the only begotten, we share equally as adopted sons and daughters in this relationship. We are not illegitimate bastards who stand trembling at the entrance of the mansion waiting to be summoned. We are loved by the Father, Son and Holy Spirit just as Jesus is loved. A relationship working itself out in creation to a grand fulfillment. Loving and learning to be loved. Wow!

I hope that isn't too wordy or heady, but I think that's why they call it the Good News!

Keep Walkin

Ron