Practicing Active Meditation

Thoreau stamp 2017 (200th year of his birth)

In his 1861 lengthy essay titled "Walking," Henry David Thoreau wrote "I think that I cannot preserve my health and spirits, unless I spend four hours a day at least,--and it is commonly more than that,--sauntering through the woods and over the hills and fields, absolutely free from all worldly engagements."

Thoreau added "I am alarmed when it happens that I have walked a mile into the woods bodily, without getting there in spirit. In my afternoon walk I would fain forget all my morning occupations and my obligations to society. But it sometimes happens that I cannot easily shake off the village. The thought of some work will run in my head, and I am not where my body is,--I am out of my senses. In my walks I would fain return to my senses."

While in this modern era we should not necessarily aspire to walking four hours per day (!!) for our mental health, we should aspire to bicycle, kayak, walk, swim, stand or sit for at least 15 minutes a day without being connected to civilization. Far too often people are walking along the Assabet River Rail Trail, or even in the woods, but with ear buds. Or sitting on a park bench, head-bent, staring at their phone. Right places - wrong actions. 

It shouldn't always be the phone

Even without any of these external stimuli, we are prone to be caught up in "discursive thinking," defined as a stream of interconnected thoughts that involve memory, analysis of past events, planning for future events, internal dialogue about one's own mental state, and so on. While normal and sometimes productive, an excessive reliance on discursive thinking can lead to stress, anxiety, and a disconnection from the present moment, making it beneficial to cultivate the ability to quiet this "storytelling mind."

However, we - citizens of the twenty-first century - are no longer good at doing nothing. In one study, people were asked to sit in silence for 15 minutes. Roughly half reported they did not like the experience. In a follow-up experiment, the researchers gave the participants the option of giving themselves mild electric shocks as a diversion. Sixty-seven percent of the men and twenty-three percent of the women did so. It wasn't because they felt "tortured by quietude," but rather they became bored with their own thoughts. Meditation takes practice!

August Rodin's The Thinker used as a model the prizefighter Jean Baud.
The first bronze casting of this sculpture was put on exhibit in Paris in 
1904; there are 27 other full-size bronze castings on display elsewhere
in the world, plus innumerable replicas of varying sizes.

In South Korea, the act of doing nothing has become a competitive sport. A popular, annual "Space-Out Competition" selects 80 contestants from thousands of applicants to sit on yoga mats amongst the others in a public place for 90 minutes. Monitors show whether they are able to lower and control their heart rate, while the judges observe their ability to minimize movement and maintain an unfocused facial visage. (Falling asleep disqualifies, likewise checking phone, talking, eating...) The winner gets a replica of Rodin's sculpture, The Thinker. 

In lieu of resting meditation, many people find that "active meditation" is easier to achieve and apparently equally mental health beneficial. Unlike traditional meditation, which involves sitting still and focusing inward, often with conscious breathing or repetitious verbalization (prayers, mantras), active meditation incorporates physical movement and sensory engagement - back to Thoreau wanting to leave thoughts of the village behind. A nuance here - competitive sports such as golf or tennis, or even group activities such as a running group or cycling club excursions - do not count. In a similar vein, health monitoring via a heart rate monitor or bicycle speedometer/odometer can be counter-productive. Even walking a dog or working in one's own garden may default to discursive thinking linked to chores and schedules. One has to be away and alone and unplugged.

Maynard offers several woodland trials wherein it is possible to be away from the sights and sounds of civilization. The Assabet River National Wildlife Refuge provides walking trails - some open to bicycling - with a parking lot at the end of White Pond Road.  See https://www.townofmaynard-ma.gov/DocumentCenter/View/160/Maynard-Open-Space-and-Trails-Map-PDF for trail and park maps provided by the Town of Maynard. (If brushing up against greenery just remember to do a body tick check afterwards.) Ice House Landing provides parking and a dock to launch kayaks or canoes.  

Assabet River Rail Trail 2025

The north end of the Assabet River Rail Trail (ARRT) encompassing Acton and Maynard, 3.4 miles, is approaching its seven-year anniversary. The south end, spanning Marlborough and part of Hudson, had been completed more than ten years earlier. The gap in the middle, Stow and part of Hudson, may be years away (or never). In the interim, it is possible to do two miles west from the Maynard/Stow border on a privately owned dirt road ("Track Road"), to Sudbury Road in Stow, then two miles on roads – Sudbury Road and Route 62 – to reconnect with the south section of the trail, in Hudson. From there, it is 5.8 miles of paved trail to the Marlborough trailhead. The Hudson trailhead also provides access to an almost-completed portion of the Mass Central Rail Trail (www.masscentralrailtrail.org).

A recent walk on the Acton/Maynard portion found the asphalt in almost entirely excellent condition. There is one crack developing about 50 yards west of Florida Road and a series of small cracks about 50 yards east of Ice House Landing which may in time need preventive maintenance, i.e., crack filling. Paved trails typically last for 15-20 years before repaving needs to be considered. Given that the south end was completed in 2005, those towns are coming up on some seriously expensive maintenance. It is not clear whether state or federal funds can be available for repair. 

Questionnaires sent to trail managers by the Rails-to-Trails conservancy in 1996, 2005 and again in 2015 led to reports on how trails are being maintained and what organizations are paying for that work. Per those reports, the cost of maintaining an asphalt-paved trail averaged $1,971 per mile per year. This encompassed work done by town employees and a value put on volunteer labor. Collectively, the 2015 report tallied this as about 13.5 hours of labor per trail mile per year. (Ha!). The Assabet River Rail Trail organization, incorporated in 1995, had provided volunteer efforts involving trail clearing to create a walkable path before the paving began. Volunteer work continues on the paved trail. Most recently, this involved adding a bicycle/bicyclist sculpture in Maynard, across from Ray & Sons Cyclery.     

The nature of work – town-paid and volunteered – includes litter removal, repairing vandalism and removing trash dumping (old car tires, etc.), mowing plant growth bordering trails and combating invasive plant species. Trees fall on trails, or else are standing dead trees threatening to do so. Drainage ditches bordering trails need to be kept clear of plant debris or else their function is compromised. Some towns will operate leaf blowers in the fall, and snow plowing in winter. Maynard and Acton have decided to not clear snow. Towns may choose to plow trail parking lots, thus providing parking for people who want to ski, snowshoe or hike in winter. There are also information kiosks, benches, signage and in Maynard, two trash receptacles managed by volunteers.

Click on photos to enlarge

The 2015 Rails-To-Trails report also noted, surprisingly, that 60% of the questionnaires returned by town/city governments did not confirm a written maintenance plan. While personal injury lawsuits are very rare, the report went on to suggest that towns should have a process to regularly inspect trails, correct unsafe conditions, and keep records. Signage of rules and regulations and hours of operation need to be posted at trailheads and other access locations. Not everyone is aware that ARRT’s signs include “Maximum Speed: 15 mph” and “Give an audible warning before passing,” but the signs are there. Guidelines for what organized volunteer groups can and cannot do need to be established, for example allowing clearing of invasive species, but forbidding using herbicides or power tools.

As for what was observed during a recent Acton/Maynard walk-through, there was remarkably little litter along the trail, with the exception of downtown Maynard, and only a few instances of graffiti. Kiosks provide information about town events. Both towns’ Department of Public Works mow the trail’s shoulders. In both towns, there are standing dead trees that in time may fall on the trail. ARRT volunteers have replaced wooden railings that were broken by fallen trees or large branches. Dozens of the hundreds of trees that were planted as part of the trail landscaping in 2017-18 have died, and were removed by volunteers. Looking forward, consideration should be given to combating invasive plant species such as Oriental bittersweet, Tree-of-Heaven, Japanese knotweed, Garlic mustard, and Purple loosestrife, the last beginning to appear in the wetter sections of drainage ditches.

Dedication ceremony, May 2023

Acton recently added two benches that were paid for by the Assabet River Rail Trail organization in memory of long-time president Thomas Kelleher and secretary Duncan Power. Maynard has three 'pocket' parks adjacent to the rail trail. The oldest is Tobin Park (1979), by the trail's bridge over the river, followed by Ice House Landing (2002), off of Winter Street, which has recently been revitalized, and now offers kayak rental and a launch dock, and as of 2023, the Marble Farm Historic Site offering a daffodil and tulip bonanza every spring, near the north end of town. All provide benches and shade.

Kousa dogwood in Tobin Park

Trail of Flowers (www.trailofflowers.com), a volunteer organization, operating under ARRT’s auspices, has since its inception in the fall of 2018 been planting flowering bulbs, shrubs and trees along the Assabet River Rail Trail, mostly in Acton and Maynard, but expanding to Hudson and Marlborough. As of early 2025, TOF has raised and spent more than $12,000 for plants, mulch, tools and website management. Students from Acton-Boxborough Regional High School have participated in annual planting events as part of Senior Student Community Service Day. Maynard Community Gardeners contribute unsold plants from the group’s annual plant sale. In 2024, Maynard Scout Troop 130 conducted a planting event at High Street as a scout’s Eagle Scout project. Years earlier, volunteers planted nine Kousa dogwoods along High Street, with mixed success, as two died from rabbit damage to the trees' trunks this past winter (now growing back from the roots), and one recently had all its leaves die from an unknown cause. These dogwoods can live 50-100 years.