When You Return After Taking a Break

Summary

Rasheed Hooda reflects on his break from walking Route 66, emphasizing the importance of rest and the challenge of maintaining daily routines, while also sharing his return to writing and publishing after a brief hiatus.

Abstract

Rasheed Hooda, a published author and top writer on Medium, shares his personal journey of returning to his walking pilgrimage along Route 66 after a rejuvenating break. On September 17, 2016, he spent his last day at home meditating, praying, and preparing for the physical demands of his journey by working out at a fitness center. The day included precious time with his daughter and a transition back into his routine of balloon twisting for children. Hooda acknowledges the difficulty of sustaining daily tasks and the value of taking time off, despite the emphasis on consistency in daily life. He admits to skipping a day of writing but made up for it by publishing a post on self-awareness and healing, maintaining his streak of daily writing and publishing. The article also includes a fun element with a YouTube video and invites readers

It’s a mixture of joy and sorrow.

Saturday, September 17, 2016, was the last day of my break.

I was up early and went to Jamat Khana for meditation and pre-dawn communal prayers. After bidding farewell to friends and supporters who were there, and receiving blessings for a safe journey, I headed to Anytime Fitness.

It was time to get back into the groove of things so I don’t have a shock when I return to walking long distances again. I put in three hours on the treadmill, that’s about ten miles. It felt good.

Next, it was breakfast with my daughter, whom I hadn’t seen all week because she was visiting grandma in Canada. Time to catch up on everything before heading out to work. Weekends are always a busy time for me twisting balloons for kids of all ages.

My daughter dropped me off at the bus station in the evening. Once the bus got on the Interstate highway, I simply leaned the seat back and went to sleep.

As I think back and ponder.

While I took a hiatus from walking route 66 to visit home back in 2016, it was my intention to write and post daily. However, yesterday, I just couldn’t muster up any energy to write this brief post. I simply didn’t have it in me.

So, looking back and being in the present moment, I can see the value of taking time off. While there is a lot of talk about consistency, persistence, and building routines, I find it a challenge to do the same thing day in and day out.

After consistently writing about my trip for 59 days, I skipped day 60, which I am making up for now, and will do day 61 in a little bit, I did publish a post on Know Thyself, Heal Thyself yesterday about intention, so I kept my streak of writing and publishing daily going. I have published 86 stories in the last 60 days.

Just for fun.

I invite you to tag along if you’re up to it. I am mentioning a few friends who may be interested in it. If you are tagged but don’t want to read my stories daily, let me know in the comments, and I will remove your name moving forward. If you are reading this and aren’t included in the list below, but you’d like to come along, let me know so that I can add you.

WALKING ROUTE 66

When You Return After Taking a Break

It’s a mixture of joy and sorrow.

As I think back and ponder.

Stay blessed and be happy, my friends.

Just for fun.

As always, thank you for reading and responding.

Here are some of my other stories:

Sometimes Doing Nothing is the Best Thing to Do

And that’s precisely what I did.

Absolute Power Corrupts Absolutely — Zap it!

An abecedarian poem.

Illuminating Mister Weirdo

Introducing myself to the community

I Am a Bum, Maybe Not the Kind You Think

An illuminating lesson I learned about the power of words by writing consistently.