What if everyday was more like this? Celebrating local experiences
How does the blue of a robin’s egg exist in nature?
Dear slow traveler,
I’ve been thinking a lot about localism and everyday choices that shape how we live. So much of modern life is built around speed and convenience, and while I’m grateful for many of those things, I also notice how easy it is to lose touch with slower, more local experiences.
As the weather has gotten nicer, I’ve been drawn to reading outside. The other day, I took my book to the front stoop and was delighted when the movement of a hummingbird in the red flowering currant caught my attention.
Slow travel is a way of making more time
for local experiences.
Salmonberry - pink stars in the spring sky
Clove currant - the scent of these yellow flowers, softly sweet and utterly clove
The tiny bush tit makes a sock nest seen here center right. Other nest-looking structures are last year’s ocean spray flowers.
A bush tit nest fragment - the nests are made from moss, lichen, bark, fluff, fur, and other light fuzzy stuff held together with gossamer.
At the end of April were several special days in addition to National Library Week: Earth Day, Independent Bookstore Day, and Celebrate Trails Day. These observances bring attention to local experiences, and while they appear on the calendar once per year, they can be part of an ordinary Tuesday.
Check a book out from your local library and find a comfy spot to read outside.
Celebrate trails and indie bookstores with books set on trails. ;)
To me, intentionally connecting with local life helps me feel grounded. I love that walking and biking for transportation are good for the planet, and I’m grateful that shopping at my local bookstore supports my community and people who make art. In May, these benefits of the local experience – in the form of connection, movement, place, and well-being – are carried forward with Bike Month and Mental Health Awareness Month. Cycling, and time spent outdoors more generally, is an important way I maintain my mental health.
On May 12, I was at Village Books for a conversation about Heidi Across America with Walk & Roll Bellingham, the local bike and walk advocacy group. We discussed the benefits of moving through the world more slowly and how the pace of slow travel changes what we notice, how we connect, and how we feel.
Explore more
Keeping it local with Bike month and mental health, I offer some upcoming Pacific Northwest cycling events that celebrate community and getting outdoors. Also, check out BIKE Bellingham's self-guided curated routes and easygoing explorations.
I hope you find a moment this week to step outside, bring a book with you, and enjoy where you are. I'd love to know what you're reading and where.
Sending love,
Heidi
