Thank you so much Adam for such a well written piece. I couldn't agree with you more. A friend of mine shared the link to this piece and I just loved reading it. I'll make some time to read the rest too, Understory seems fantastic and very much needed. I'm a huge fan of walking by the way and we do it a lot in the Pyrenees here in Spain. Thank you!
Thank you Adam for reminding me of the value of walking (as if I needed a reminder! I have missed walking these past months: first I had to cancel my pilgrimage to Japan which curtailed my determination to train and go for long nature hikes very regularly, then many parks closed because of COVID only to reopen with limited trails to avoid the overcrowding, then the heat prevented any long hiking, now we have the fires and the bad air quality limiting us to indoor spaces only). Your mention of Rebecca Solnit's text makes me reminisce of a blog post I wrote almost 2 years ago, titled "On the Wisdom of Walking in The Woods"(https://www.designingyourlife.coach/blog/2018/11/2/onthewisdomofwalkinginthewoods?rq=Solnit). While the quotes I chose for that blog are slightly different from the ones you selected, we both agree on the depth and beauty of her book. And, there is another book I would like to mention that resonates with your statement about walking as a resistance act: "A Walking Life- Reclaiming Our Health and Our Freedom One Step at a Time" by Antonia Malchik. In her book, Malchik advocates for making our cities as walkable as possible to restore our health, communities and democracy. I also enjoyed learning about ramblers and the right to roam in Northern Europe which I knew little about. I also particularly appreciated your linking of the topic in this issue to the climate marches of last year. Thank you for your writing.
I so enjoyed this 'deep dive' into something so basic and 'taken for granted' as walking. Living in rural Colorado, I can perambulate many places ... all on public lands, though. Not so easy in the urban and suburban zones where most of us live. As an outdoor educator, I guide people to a deeper, more conscious connection to Self and Community by 'walking' in Nature.
These are hard times in our country and elsewhere. Let's keep putting one foot in front of the other. Sitting down is good for rest and contemplation, but if we sit too much we may lose some of those footpaths ... and some of our freedoms.
Great issue Adam. One of the frustrations I've experienced in the past six months is the lack of walking meetings. For brainstorming, knowledge sharing, and emergent creation, they are so much more effective than sitting in an office. I've taken a few meetings walking by myself while talking (on my headphones)...it's not quite the same, but not bad!
Thanks Adam, for your thoughtful insights on walking. I agree with the added value of walking to our health and happiness, it is a form of meditation, made more profound when the walks can occur in nature. We are so lucky in BC that we have so many opportunities to walk and so much beautiful nature available to enjoy. An affirmation to keep up the fight. Cheers Mitch
I couldn’t agree more with the value of walking. I have the benefit of a dog who reminds me to walk him and me. On these walks it is truly a walking meditation where I am connected with nature and subconsciously connecting with whatever is percolating in my soul. Most of the time I purposely don’t listen to anything so that I can be present to effortlessly observe and absorb. If we all could unplug and slow down and connect with nature, we no doubt would have the stronger connection with humankind and nature resulting in us all caring for our community, region, province, country and world.
For Covid vacation, our family went on a kayak trip in Johnstone Strait. Kayaking being the walking of water activities. The pandemic meant there were literally a handful of motorized boats. It was so calm and peaceful and the wildlife was plentiful. The connection of our family together and with nature was priceless. But the pint being that any time you are in nature, it feeds your soul.
Great work Adam. I love the thoughtful journey you have taken us on.
Sending gratitude, Adam, for this valuable meditation on the topic and experience of humans walking in the lived environment. I learned a great deal here, and also other elements I learned earlier in life I found sewn together into a more cohesive understanding.
I will always be grateful that my first 8 years or so of life was lived in the shadow of Pikes Peak, and included hikes up to some of its streams and lakes. That formed the first and likely deepest experience of what it is to have an Axis Mundi that felt like it took up half the sky on some days. The comfort even as we lived in the Valley of always knowing its fields full of enormous grasshoppers, jackrabbits, trout, pines and lichen-covered boulders were within reach. Moving to Washington DC area from there was frankly a shock to the system, and never felt quite natural until I discovered the joys of swamping at 11-12 years old. I know my mother was beside herself when more than one pair of brand new sneakers came back home absolutely drenched in the muck of the Potomac's many tributaries and wetlands. These spaces do restore ourselves to ourselves.
What is interesting for me to reflect on is that most of what I did in my 20's and early 30's when visiting a new city was to simply walk aimlessly and see what I might discover. I did this in San Francisco back when it seemed like another planet (as I was at the time an East-coaster). In London many times I walked miles and miles of the city and its park-lands, taking a meal wherever I found myself at each mealtime. And how I loved to walk in New York City, especially in May, in the rain - often I'd be the only person moving at my pace, a slow reflective walk. I felt I was moving through time, not just space.
All that to say I don't think this attitude of walking to restore the self to the self must happen in a 100% natural landscape, indeed part of reclaiming our space as civic is that we spend time out in the open, and in it, as per the public square.
Thank you Adam. This was a great and timely essay. Having done an actual pilgrimage this year, what you wrote has great resonance. And I think I’m going to use your article as a text for my students this month. Keep up the great work and beautiful writing. Best, Lydia
Thank you so much Adam for such a well written piece. I couldn't agree with you more. A friend of mine shared the link to this piece and I just loved reading it. I'll make some time to read the rest too, Understory seems fantastic and very much needed. I'm a huge fan of walking by the way and we do it a lot in the Pyrenees here in Spain. Thank you!
Thank you Adam for reminding me of the value of walking (as if I needed a reminder! I have missed walking these past months: first I had to cancel my pilgrimage to Japan which curtailed my determination to train and go for long nature hikes very regularly, then many parks closed because of COVID only to reopen with limited trails to avoid the overcrowding, then the heat prevented any long hiking, now we have the fires and the bad air quality limiting us to indoor spaces only). Your mention of Rebecca Solnit's text makes me reminisce of a blog post I wrote almost 2 years ago, titled "On the Wisdom of Walking in The Woods"(https://www.designingyourlife.coach/blog/2018/11/2/onthewisdomofwalkinginthewoods?rq=Solnit). While the quotes I chose for that blog are slightly different from the ones you selected, we both agree on the depth and beauty of her book. And, there is another book I would like to mention that resonates with your statement about walking as a resistance act: "A Walking Life- Reclaiming Our Health and Our Freedom One Step at a Time" by Antonia Malchik. In her book, Malchik advocates for making our cities as walkable as possible to restore our health, communities and democracy. I also enjoyed learning about ramblers and the right to roam in Northern Europe which I knew little about. I also particularly appreciated your linking of the topic in this issue to the climate marches of last year. Thank you for your writing.
I so enjoyed this 'deep dive' into something so basic and 'taken for granted' as walking. Living in rural Colorado, I can perambulate many places ... all on public lands, though. Not so easy in the urban and suburban zones where most of us live. As an outdoor educator, I guide people to a deeper, more conscious connection to Self and Community by 'walking' in Nature.
These are hard times in our country and elsewhere. Let's keep putting one foot in front of the other. Sitting down is good for rest and contemplation, but if we sit too much we may lose some of those footpaths ... and some of our freedoms.
Great issue Adam. One of the frustrations I've experienced in the past six months is the lack of walking meetings. For brainstorming, knowledge sharing, and emergent creation, they are so much more effective than sitting in an office. I've taken a few meetings walking by myself while talking (on my headphones)...it's not quite the same, but not bad!
Thanks Adam, for your thoughtful insights on walking. I agree with the added value of walking to our health and happiness, it is a form of meditation, made more profound when the walks can occur in nature. We are so lucky in BC that we have so many opportunities to walk and so much beautiful nature available to enjoy. An affirmation to keep up the fight. Cheers Mitch
I couldn’t agree more with the value of walking. I have the benefit of a dog who reminds me to walk him and me. On these walks it is truly a walking meditation where I am connected with nature and subconsciously connecting with whatever is percolating in my soul. Most of the time I purposely don’t listen to anything so that I can be present to effortlessly observe and absorb. If we all could unplug and slow down and connect with nature, we no doubt would have the stronger connection with humankind and nature resulting in us all caring for our community, region, province, country and world.
For Covid vacation, our family went on a kayak trip in Johnstone Strait. Kayaking being the walking of water activities. The pandemic meant there were literally a handful of motorized boats. It was so calm and peaceful and the wildlife was plentiful. The connection of our family together and with nature was priceless. But the pint being that any time you are in nature, it feeds your soul.
Great work Adam. I love the thoughtful journey you have taken us on.
Sending gratitude, Adam, for this valuable meditation on the topic and experience of humans walking in the lived environment. I learned a great deal here, and also other elements I learned earlier in life I found sewn together into a more cohesive understanding.
I will always be grateful that my first 8 years or so of life was lived in the shadow of Pikes Peak, and included hikes up to some of its streams and lakes. That formed the first and likely deepest experience of what it is to have an Axis Mundi that felt like it took up half the sky on some days. The comfort even as we lived in the Valley of always knowing its fields full of enormous grasshoppers, jackrabbits, trout, pines and lichen-covered boulders were within reach. Moving to Washington DC area from there was frankly a shock to the system, and never felt quite natural until I discovered the joys of swamping at 11-12 years old. I know my mother was beside herself when more than one pair of brand new sneakers came back home absolutely drenched in the muck of the Potomac's many tributaries and wetlands. These spaces do restore ourselves to ourselves.
What is interesting for me to reflect on is that most of what I did in my 20's and early 30's when visiting a new city was to simply walk aimlessly and see what I might discover. I did this in San Francisco back when it seemed like another planet (as I was at the time an East-coaster). In London many times I walked miles and miles of the city and its park-lands, taking a meal wherever I found myself at each mealtime. And how I loved to walk in New York City, especially in May, in the rain - often I'd be the only person moving at my pace, a slow reflective walk. I felt I was moving through time, not just space.
All that to say I don't think this attitude of walking to restore the self to the self must happen in a 100% natural landscape, indeed part of reclaiming our space as civic is that we spend time out in the open, and in it, as per the public square.
Thank you Adam. This was a great and timely essay. Having done an actual pilgrimage this year, what you wrote has great resonance. And I think I’m going to use your article as a text for my students this month. Keep up the great work and beautiful writing. Best, Lydia