Walking has been a big part of my life since 2008 and it has served me well during my cancer years.
On average, I walk about 2 miles per day outside in the fresh air on various random routes and today I walked
Not only is it good to get out of the house and get some fresh oxygen into your lungs, but it is also an opportunity to listen to podcasts, music or chat with friends on the phone.
I also have some apps which monitor things like distance, time and calories burned, so it is also an opportunity to monitor my health.
But the real thing about walking is the sense of being ‘out there’ and not knowing exactly what you will come across: a nice dog, a strange hedge or some daffodils arranged in the shape of a heart (which I did actually see!).
As Swiss writer Robert Walser once wrote:
“With the utmost love and attention the man who walks must study and observe every smallest living thing, be it a child, a dog, a fly, a butterfly, a sparrow, a worm, a flower…” – Robert Walser, The Walk (Serpent’s Tail, 2013)
Picks:
- Podcast: WTF with Marc Maron, Episode 684 – William Friedkin
- Book: Selected Poems, William Wordsworth (Penguin, 2004)
- Film: House of Games (David Mamet, 1987)