Has the art of walking been lost?
Over the last few months a series of books and studies have all been released that link walking and thinking. However, do we do enough to just go for a walk? Has walking simply for walking sake been lost in our modern world?
Walking for any distance these days is normally a planned activity we undertake for leisure, or as part of a health and fitness regime. It is becoming something of a luxury, especially in the ever increasing urban environment, where transport systems become more common and varied, whether it be car, tram, bike, or train, they are all accessible and available.
However, there is something else that a walk gives you, that of a place to think, a chance to clear your mind. Some of our greatest minds used walking in just this manner. Wordsworth, one of our greatest ever poets, whose works are forever linked to the Lake District and its natural beauty, would simply walk the hills getting lost in his own thoughts, with no aim but to walk and think, there was no target or aim of ticking another Wainwright off his list.
Similarly Charles Dickens walked the streets of London at night, covering up to 20 miles at a time. Virginia Woolf too was seen simply walking through London’s Parks Both of whom supplied us with literature that invokes the streets they walked.
However you don’t have to be an author or a poet to see the value of walking, not simply that short walk to the shops but that of a more aimless walk. May is National Walking Month so why not see the effect it could have for you, a recent study showed that simply walking on a treadmill improved creative thought, so why not get outside pick a direction and see where your thoughts take you.
Here are a couple of tips to help the thought process:
Walk with no fixed route in mind
Stop texting
Go alone
Do not soundtrack your walks
As one researcher puts it "Your senses are sharpened. As a writer, I also use it as a form of problem solving. I'm far more likely to find a solution by going for a walk than sitting at my desk and 'thinking'."
Why not simply have a go, put your boots on and when you publish that first successful book, remember who put you on the path. And if nothing comes to mind then at least you did get some exercise.
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