On Going for Walks

In these difficult times of the pandemic, it is not clear whether one should go outside at all given the risks. I however believe that people should still try to go for a walk outside for a multitude of reasons.

When I go for my daily walks, I never go without a notebook and a pen. Some of my most peculiar ideas seem to come to me while walking outside. I think in general one should always keep a notebook, regardless of where they are going or where they are. By writing any of your interesting thoughts or ideas you are more likely to come up with new ones. Walking for me, seems to be the best time for me to think about new ideas, however, this is not all.

One time I was asked by a family member “Won’t you run out of things to write if you’re writing every day?” I always thought this was a strange question. Every time I go outside on a walk something happens. New poem ideas, essay ideas, even short story ideas just come out of seemingly nowhere. Once when I was walking home from the grocery store one summer, and I saw a crow on a tree branch I watched it fly down to a dirty puddle on the ground and start drinking from it. I distinctly remember watching the crow drink from the puddle for at least five or ten minutes. For some reason, I found it subtle and sad to see such an amazing creature have to drink some leftover dirty water. When I got back, I wrote a poem to try and capture the essence of that feeling when I saw the crow and the puddle. Another time I was walking out very early morning in the winter and I looked behind me down the street, and I saw one of the most peaceful and beautiful scenes my eyes could witness. An empty street in the dark hours of the morning with thousands of twinkling snowflakes falling in the lights. Not even another sign of life was present. It felt even better than a calm before the storm, and to think I would have missed experiencing this if I had not turned around; I would have loved a photograph though! Like I said before, I always found the question of running out of things to write strange, because things to dwell and think about just keep popping up every time.

It was never really any secret that meditation or traditional meditation never worked for me. I used to be quite good at it, but I found it did not help in my day to day life. Instead, I found that if I were stressed about something, after a walk I would be calmer, and it did not bother me as much anymore. I think that walking can be a good way for people to process some emotions that they are dealing with. I often even find myself talking to myself sometimes while doing it. For most people, they do not have any privacy in their homes and apartments. Behind one wall there could be another apartment or above you, there could be a person staying above you, there could even be people just outside your door! In other words, a lot of people do not get much privacy where they live so they are not likely to make time for themselves. By going for a walk, you are more likely to get the privacy you need. One could say that walking is my meditation, well if it is, I guess it is. The main thing I learned about walking is to not control your thoughts if your brain wants to think about this then think about that. Probably the main reason why I do not find mindfulness helpful, you spend so much energy trying to get your mind to focus on one thing, instead, just let things flow and one will be more relaxed.

In conclusion, more people should take the time to go for a walk. It helps you come up with ideas, it can relax your mind, and it forces you to experience something. Even in these times, it is important to make time for oneself. We all have quite enough to deal with every day already, so it is nice to just step away from it all now and then.

N. Monk, Philosopher, and Futurist