Once upon a time, there was this brown tabby cat that the neighborhood children named Milo. The stray kitty would visit my house to smooch some lunch or dinner.
I called Milo my Lodger Cat because it would sleep on my porch in the wee hours of the morning or lounge where it was sure I would squash it if I didn’t mind my step. He wasn’t my cat. The community owned him but I walked around him because I’m a sucker for helpless creatures.
This long-winded story brings me to National Walk Around Day, unofficially celebrated on April 4. Sorry, working folks, you don’t get 30 percent additional pay on this day. And there’s no walking around it.
The point of Walk Around Day is a two-pronged fork. One is to walk around barriers, like a sleeping cat or potholes on the street. It can also mean walking around places where your heart is broken or dark alleys at night even if it’s the shorter passage to your boarding house. On the other prong, is the deeper value of walking around obstacles, barriers and dangers.
The idea of walking around situations has a psychological and symbolic purpose. It is useful in our daily life. For example, we can choose to step on a problem or walk around it to find a better understanding of the root cause.
This celebration reminds people that we can walk around or avoid arguments. We can choose to thank God we can still single-handedly take care of a sick loved one rather than curse the world.
There are topics we avoid, and people we have forgiven but continue to walk around them, and I am sure you have your reasons. The point here is to stop hurting yourself.
How will you celebrate this day? Me? I just finished my column.