Reflections on walking

I have a suspicion that most people envision sitting cross legged on the floor when you mention meditation. but there is a long history in various eastern religious and spiritual practices of walking meditation. I find walking a very meditative act. Besides the getting me around, and the exercise aspect of it, I just find it a great way to get the creative juices flowing and also just to clear my head of negative energy. And while I enjoy the company of others, I’m perfectly content to walk by myself.

I went for years not having a camera (alas, so many missed opportunities). Back then I seemed to enjoy the aspect of covering as much ground in as short a time as I could. Now I find myself meandering a lot more, doing a lot of goofing off with a camera, and the distances covered aren’t as much as they once were. Or maybe I’m getting old and slowing down. Either way, it’s all good. Whether I enjoy the activity for the sake of the activity, or enjoy a fun hobby along the way, I’m engaged in something I enjoy. And in a way, the photography compels me to get out more, and it also compels me to go places I may not have been before.

I suppose another reason why I prefer to do any sort of spiritual fine tuning or whatever you want to call it while wandering about is that I send enough time sitting behind a computer or a light table or a work bench or on a train. I really value any and all opportunity to be on my feet, propelling myself forwards, either aimlessly or towards some destination.

Another aspect I enjoy so much is that you are bound to see and hear and smell and just plain sense many more phenomena than you ever will in a wheeled vehicle. The scope and depth of the sounds of nature that I hear when walking around is amazing. Coming up on scenes that anyone in a car would whiz right past makes me happy. 

It seems hard for some people to fathom, but humanity spread from the center of Africa all the way out to Australia and Tierra Del Fuego. We’re designed to walk. I recall reading a quote by Herzog once where he said that we’ve been estranged from something essential, which is travelling on foot, and leading a nomadic life.

I often receive a stunned reaction when I tell people I just walked 30 kilometers. Why? Are we all really so estranged from this vital and most human activity that they can’t imagine walking a distance like that?

 I hope that if I live to an old age that walking remains a cherished and essential part of it right up until the very end.