Feeling part of something bigger as I walk through old graveyards

I’m a 38-year-old female and a dog owner.

What do you do to protect and improve your mental wellbeing?

I find walking my dog really helps me to relax. Sometimes I like walking in quiet places where I can be alone and enjoy just being in nature, other times I enjoy walking with other dog walkers and the social interaction that brings.

Recently I’ve enjoyed finding old graveyards to walk around, trying to find the oldest dates or families buried together. I don’t like thinking about death, particularly, and yet I find something soothing and inspiring in thinking about all those who have gone before me and the range of experiences within the lives represented in these small spaces.

I think it’s about feeling part of something bigger, understanding that, as time passes, some things come to an end and others stay the same.

I also enjoy seeing how nature creeps back in those overlooked corners and fallen stones – that’s the real thing that continues on beyond us, nature, and I find a sense of wonder in that and a desire to protect the environment.

Thankfully my dog’s never tried to dig anything up in a graveyard! I feel like we both try to respect the edges of burial spaces, although sometimes I get a little shiver if think I might have stepped in the wrong place, even though I don’t (really) believe in ghosts!