I love to go for long walks . That is my first choice for getting places.
I love being able to walk places. It is a privilege. It is a privilege to have a body that can do it without pain. It is a privilege to have places close enough to walk to. It is a privilege to have a climate and landscape amenable to it. None of these are guarantees.
Sometimes they are short walks. There is a bakery a few blocks from where I live. Every now and then, when I have a bit of time in the morning, I indulge in a sweet treat from there.
About half an hour away on my legs, there is a little park with a stunning view of the local landscape. That is always a good stroll.
There is nothing like the feeling of moving through the world by yourself, with nothing more than your own body (and the help of the teams of people who designed, manufactured, and shipped my shoe; or the people who designed, built, and maintain the roads, paths, trails, etc that I walk on). There are other cafes and parks that I walk to.
It feels freeing to go where I want, when I want, regardless of where everybody else is going. I can even go, simply is whatever direction pleases me, without worrying about exactly where. Or I can go to a place without knowing the route, content that I know I am heading the right direction. I can go at my own pace, at ground level.
It is hard, in a car, to stop to admire the interesting things, the shape of a rock, a pretty flower, the color of the light against a building, the sound of trees rustling in the wind, the chirping and singing of birds. Cars are boxed in. Traffic is alternately halting and urgent. Walking gives you a chance to actually observe the patch of world around you.
Walking is not only a way to get outside , it’s free!
Walking has all manner of health benefits, I am told. I admit that is not a major reason I walk. It is certainly good for thinking. I have come up with quite a few ideas while walking.
I think I am going to go for a walk now. Feel free to join me.
Context
This post was written as a response to this month’s Indie Web Carnival , with the theme “Love letter”
P.S.
Here are some of the other things I considered writing a love letter to for this post:
- Love letters
- Libraries
- Blogging
- Trees
- eBay
