We had a wonderful attendance at the first Mindful Walking in Nature event on Sunday 21 October, at the beautiful Peace Pagoda, North Willen Lake, Milton Keynes. Around 60 people attended the event which was bathed in beautiful sunshine throughout.

The event was held in the Plum Village tradition as taught by mindfulness teacher, Thich Nhat Hahn. We sang simple songs to generate feelings of peace, joy and gratitude, then we set off on a slow, silent and happy walk around the park, through trees, across open parkland and taking untrodden paths past the Nipponzan Myohoji temple. We finished our walk in the spacious maze overlooking the lake and spent some time in silent meditation, experiencing the effects of the walk on our bodies and contemplating the beauty of this special place.

Participants raised £65.44 in donations for the restoration of the marble plinth in front of the Pagoda, which is crumbling away after many years of usage. The temple needs to raise around £40k by June 2019 for the restoration to begin. It will create a new plinth of the same size and shape, using more enduring materials, that will serve the community for many more years to come.

Our next Mindful Walking in Nature event will take place on Sunday 9 December, 11am to 12noon, once again at the Peace Pagoda and again with donations going to the marble plinth restoration project. Although it will certainly be colder and could be wetter, there is beauty and peace to be found in walking mindfully in nature at any time of the year.

Booking for 9 December is via the Mindful Walking in Nature Facebook event page.