Tuesday, February 1, 2011

The beauty of walking

Krkonoše / Karkonosze
 Do you ever just walk? I don't mean walking as in transportation - a simple, cheap way to get from spot A to spot B - I mean walking as in walking for its own sake. Many people today don't even know - or pretend not to know - the feeling. The feeling of forgetting where you are going, the feeling when your mind gradually becomes clearer and calmer than it ever could be while sitting or lying down. As unlikely as that probably sounds, I think that the closest I've ever been to a state of trance was when I was walking alone over the ridges of the Czech-Polish border mountain range on a calm summer day, not caring about anything and with no one in sight to disturb my thoughts. Walking is, in a way, as automatic as breathing or blinking to us. This particular property is what separates it from all other physical activities. Biking, running, swimming, climbing... all of these force you to concentrate on the task at hand. They all do offer a similar sort of mind-clearing experience, but it is still very different from walking.
No matter what you do, there is always time for a walk every now and then. Whether it be alone or with friends, in a forest or in the city, a long walk or a short stroll, walking always feels good. Apart from being physically unable to, there is no excuse whatsoever for not doing it.

Share your thoughts and opinions in the comments!

14 comments:

  1. I walk to school. I don't think that counts in your little survey though, cause I have a destination to get to. Other than that, I don't think I walk anywhere :(

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  2. I enjoy walking for the hell of it, especially while listening to music. Sometimes it's just nice to feel your body moving.

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  3. As a matter of fact, yes I do. I live near the sea and often walk to the beach (yes even in the winter). But very nice post, I advice more people to walk since its such a good way to calm down and relax.

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  4. I really enjoy a nice walk, wish mine route looked like the pic...

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  5. I just walk to relieve stress

    +support
    http://eeatucf.blogspot.com/

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  6. At first, when I began reading this particular post I thought you were more of a rambler than anything else, but after a bit of consideration, I think you might be onto something. Starting from now on, I think I'll be walking a lot more.

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  7. I always walk when im feeling down, best on cold nights with your ipod.

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  8. I love walking! Ever read nature by Ralph Waldo Emerson? He likes walking =p.

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  9. I do it all the time to clear my mind.

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  10. I do just walk. I like looking around and seeing what's right in front of me, it's.. nice.

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  11. When I lived in Alaska I would often go on just-because walks. The do indeed give you that feel good feeling of not having a care in the world. It's good stuff.

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  12. I walk out of boredom from time to time. But I always have a bus card. There's been times I'd wind up 10 miles away from how without realizing it.

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  13. i like walking very much specially on the mountains

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  14. I never walk just to walk, but I generally make the choice to walk instead of driving/taking my bike. I just like the time to think about things, or nothing.

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