Journal: Saturday, April 1, 2006

I had a wonderful walk in the park today. I first went down to do some stair-climbing on the old cement stairs near the pond. With a Mozart piano quartet playing on my iPod, I slowly marched up and down the stairs, enjoying the lovely April scenery as I walked. I felt strong and peppy throughout the forty-minute exercise, helped, no doubt, by the lovely music coming in through my headphones. It was one of the best workouts I can recall. Afterwards, I walked home and got my copy of Paradise Lost and returned to the park. I sat on a bench beside the pond and listened to an audio recording of the poem while following in the book. I am so glad I decided to re-read the poem this spring, because it is one of the most enriching books I've ever read. As I sat by the quiet gray pond and listened to the musical words of the poet, I felt myself sinking into the kind of stillness and harmony that great poetry so often induces in readers. All in all, it was lovely day to be outside. There was a festival of some sort in the park, and groups of spring worshippers were out and about, appreciating the fine weather. As the day wore on to evening, the weather seemed to grow even softer. As night fell, the clouds in the west disappeared in a final flourish of sunlight, and I felt grateful to have enjoyed such a special day.