WHERE’S YOUR WALDEN? 
Today I’m writing to you from Walden Woods, in Concord,
Massachusetts, the very heart of the woods themselves. Thismorning, I found myself around the same table where HenryDavid Thoreau, his mother Cynthia, and his sister Sophia oncedined with Frederick Douglass, a moment in history echoing withdignity through Thoreau’s homestead. Sitting there, I reflected andtruly appreciated the wonder of being alive in this storied place. 
Afterward, we walked the Emerson-Thoreau Amble, a windingpath under a sky just beginning to tilt into autumn. Fresh pinecrumbled beneath our feet, scenting the air with its earthy tang. A group of wild turkeyscrossed our path, their parade so unhurried I had to smile at their confidence it was nature’sown reminder to slow down. 
These are details I might have missed, had I not decided to be present. We silenced ourphones and let the modern world fade for a while, tuning in instead to the soundscape of thewoods. The wind rustled through the treetops with a rhythm not unlike the ocean’s tide, agentle, ongoing invitation to breathe deeper and listen closer. 
This is exactly what Thoreau meant by “circling round and round your life.” He wrote, “Dowhat you love. Know your own bone; gnaw at it, bury it, unearth it, and gnaw it still.” For 
Thoreau, walking was both a practice and a philosophy: a way to let thoughts settle, to listenfor what matters most, and to rediscover wonder in the ordinary. 
In our device-driven days, it’s easy to miss quiet miracles. We scroll, click, hurry from oneto-do to the next. But each of us, I believe, has a “Walden”, a place, a practice, a moment,
to which we can return for renewal. Sometimes, our Walden is a walk through Concord’swoods. Other times, it’s as simple as sitting down to reflect, or sharing a meal steeped inhistory and connection. 
And you don’t have to be in Massachusetts to find it. California is brimming with its ownWaldens, whether you hike Mt. Wilson, amble around a sparkling city park, or saunterdown a coastal path as the fog rolls in. The heart of the journey isn’t the location, but theintention to pause, notice, and reclaim a pocket of presence. 
Where’s your Walden? Take just one walk this week Do it without digital distractions. Gosomewhere you love in California’s wild or urban beauty. Let your mind wander, breathedeeply, and see what new inspiration finds you. Feel free to share your discoveries withsomeone close to you. We could all use a little more presence. 
Presence is a practice and it can begin with a single step. Your Walden might be closer,
richer, and quieter than you think. Perhaps the next wild turkey, parrot or even a pigeonyou encounter will remind you to slow down and savor the journey. 
You’re invited to the Visionary Leaders’ Salon My gathering for connection, insight, and 
possibility on October 10, 2026. Join us for an uplifting evening of idea-sharing, personalgrowth, and community with like-hearted leaders and dreamers. 
To learn more and reserve your spot, visit loriaharris.com. 
Come nourish your vision and discover your own Walden among new friends! 
Lori Harris is coach, author, and podcast host. You can learn more at her website loriaharris. 
com 
School is back in session. The kids have homework, after-
school activities and sports. Parents are driving from oneplace to another, traffic seems worse, vacations are over, workis back in full swing, and calendars are filling up. With somany demands, it isn't surprising that exercise is often one of 
the first things to go. 
“I don't have time” is one of the most common reasons peoplegive for not exercising. There certainly are people whose daysare packed from morning until night. But is lack of time reallythe problem for most of us? Research suggests otherwise. 
Researchers analyzed how more than 32,000 Americansspent every minute of a 24-hour day. They used a strictdefinition of “free time.” Work didn't count. Neither did 
cooking, cleaning, shopping, childcare, sleeping, eating,
grooming or education. Even after all of those things wereremoved, Americans averaged more than five hours of freetime a day. No demographic group in the study averaged less 
than four and a half hours. 
So where did the time go? A lot of it went to screens. More recent government time-use data tell 
a similar story. In 2025, Americans spent an average of 5.2 hours a day on leisure and sports 
activities, with television alone accounting for about half of that time. 
That doesn't mean you have five hours available to exercise every day. Or that someone jugglinga job, children, household responsibilities and everything else life throws at us isn't genuinelybusy. But it does raise an interesting question: When we say, “I don't have time to exercise,” do we 
actually mean there isn't any time available, or do we mean there isn't a nice, convenient 30- or 
60-minute block sitting empty on our calendar waiting for a workout? 
Those are two very different things. One problem may be the way we picture exercise. We tend to 
think of a workout as an event. We have to change clothes, go somewhere, exercise for a certainlength of time, cool down, shower and get back to whatever else we need to do. If that's your 
definition of exercise, you may very well look at a busy Tuesday and decide there isn't room for it. 
But a worthwhile exercise session doesn't have to take an hour. Fifteen minutes of purposefulexercise is enough time for a brisk walk, a short strength workout, a trip up and down some stairs, 
a ride on a stationary bike or a combination of several exercises at home. Find two 15-minute 
periods during your day and you've accumulated 30 minutes of exercise without ever having to 
find a 30-minute opening. 
This is where all-or-nothing thinking can get us into trouble. We have 15 minutes, but that's not 
enough for the workout we planned, so we do nothing. We have time for a brisk walk, but not thethree-mile walk we intended to take, so we skip it. We could do some strength exercises at home,
but we can't get to the gym, so we decide we'll exercise tomorrow instead. We turn “not enough 
time” into “no time at all.” 
Since school is back in session, here’s some homework. I simply want you to find out whether lack 
of time is really keeping you from exercising. 
For the next seven days, look for 15-minute periods of discretionary time that normally disappearwithout you giving them much thought. Maybe you spend 20 minutes scrolling through your 
phone after dinner. Maybe you watch a television program you don't particularly care about 
simply because it's on. Maybe you're sitting in the car while your child is at soccer practice. Maybe15 or 20 minutes disappears while you're browsing online. You might even discover that you trulydon't have an available 15 minutes on certain days. 
Every time you notice an available block of at least 15 minutes, write it down. Don't exercise 
during it unless you want to. Don't rearrange your schedule. For now, simply keep track. This isn't 
an exercise log; it's a time log, and nobody is going to collect your homework. 
At the end of seven days, add up what you found. You may discover that time really is your biggestobstacle. If so, you know the problem you're trying to solve. But you may discover somethingquite different: There were several 15-minute openings scattered throughout your week that yousimply hadn't thought of as potential exercise time. 
If that's what your homework shows, next week's assignment is going to be pretty obvious. The 
challenge won't be finding time to exercise. You already found it. The challenge will be deciding 
what you're going to do with it. 
Michele Silence, M.A. is a certified fitness professional who offers semi-private/virtual fitnessclasses. Contact Michele at michele@kid-fit.com. Visit her Facebook page at: michelesfitness 
Mountain View News Satuurday, September 26, 2026 
99THE GOOD LIFE 
Michele Silence, M.A. is a 37-year certified fitness 
professional who offers semi-private/virtual fit-
ness classes. Contact Michele at michele@kid-fit. 
com. Visit her Facebook page at: michelesfitness 
Visit her Facebook page at: michelesfitness. 
FIND YOUR TIME UNLOCK YOUR LIFE 
Lori A. Harris 
Wistaria 
Thrift Shop’s550 W. Sierra Madre Blvd, Sierra Madre 
HHaalllloowwee’’eennSSppeecciiaallssMon, Thurs, Fri-10 a –3 pSat, 10 a -1 pSave the Date: Holiday Extravaganza: Dec., 3, 4, 5 
662266--335555--77773399Proceeds help Support 
SMWC’s Charities & Scholarships 
Catch breaking news at:
mtnviewsnews.comMountain View News Satuurday, September 26, 2026 
99THE GOOD LIFE 
Michele Silence, M.A. is a 37-year certified fitness 
professional who offers semi-private/virtual fit-
ness classes. Contact Michele at michele@kid-fit. 
com. Visit her Facebook page at: michelesfitness 
Visit her Facebook page at: michelesfitness. 
FIND YOUR TIME UNLOCK YOUR LIFE 
Lori A. Harris 
Wistaria 
Thrift Shop’s550 W. Sierra Madre Blvd, Sierra Madre 
HHaalllloowwee’’eennSSppeecciiaallssMon, Thurs, Fri-10 a –3 pSat, 10 a -1 pSave the Date: Holiday Extravaganza: Dec., 3, 4, 5 
662266--335555--77773399Proceeds help Support 
SMWC’s Charities & Scholarships 
Catch breaking news at:
mtnviewsnews.com
Mountain Views News 80 W Sierra Madre Blvd. No. 327 Sierra Madre, Ca. 91024 Office: 626.355.2737 Fax: 626.609.3285 Email: editor@mtnviewsnews.com Website: www.mtnviewsnews.com