- Walking is a luxury in the West. Very few people, particularly in cities, are obliged to do much of it at all. Cars, bicycles, buses, trams, and trains all beckon.
Instead, walking for any distance is usually a planned leisure activity. Or a health aid. Something to help people lose weight. Or keep their fitness. But there's something else people get from choosing to walk. A place to think.
"There are many people who regard walking from place to place as "dead time" that they resent losing." Interesting choice of words. Walking is a big part of my recovery from cancer treatment, and I look at it quite the opposite from "dead" time. I view every hour I walk as one extra hour I will live, so it is very much "free" time to me, time to live that doesn't count against against my lifespan. I walk about 30-60 minutes a day, to work and back, and while it has a purpose and a destination, I vary the route every single time and keep an awareness: what am I going to learn this time? I love it.
Awesome. Myself, I'm taking baby steps. And by baby steps I mean a bicycle. I decided that I'm going to bike to work this Spring and Summer. It will be much more enjoyable. The absolute hardest thing to do is going to beeaving the garage on my bicycle and not my motorcycle on a sunny Summer morning. It's a bit less than two miles away, so it isn't that far at all.
I walk less than I used to. My wife and I used to walk 3 miles one way to the place we grocery shopped and then we would carry the bags 3 miles back. It was quite the slog, but we did it for recreations sake. I just moved to a place with lots of trails right in my back yard. Just looked out the window and there were 5 deer laying down at the mouth of our gate. I'll be doing more walking, I already am. I will also be running again but the running has a "purpose," while my walking will just be to walk. Not for exercise or thought. If nothing else, it will be a time of quiet, not reflection but nothingness.
I walk aimlessly every single day that I can. It's been a habit since I've literally walked to school damn near every day since elementary. Today, I take random breaks at work and just go walking around the neighborhoods and thinking to myself. I feel like its silently held my sanity together through everything I experience. It's a chance for me to consider what's happened recently and how to integrate that into who I am, how I feel, etc. You also get a better perspective for what people are doing in the environment around you and changes in the environment itself.
I was a competitive runner for about 7 years, and when I wasn't running I never really felt the need to get out and do much aerobic work or exploration in any capacity. I finished that about a year ago - though I still run a bit recreationally - and I've started going for short walks during the week and long walks (sometimes up to 9 or 10 miles) on Friday evenings after work. It's really amazing how de-stressing it is. Prior to starting this, I thought I had a pretty darn good feel for most of the Twin Cities, but I notice and learn so many more things about neighborhoods going for walks through them. Although I'm usually listening to podcasts, which the article specifically mentions as a distraction for truly "purposeless walking". Eh.
Cities are very walkable here. After the meetup yesterday, I went to the Vondelpark in Amsterdam just to wander about and enjoy the nature. But trains are where I reflect most. I travel twice a week by train, the same route, and staring at the familiar terrain passing by is a great moment to reflect. When I walk around I still need to pay some attention to where I'm walking. Sitting in a train is a better environment for me to think.