> CD #41: Walk this way
When I started going to the university after 18 months of working from home, it took almost two full weeks for me to adjust to being a person in the world again. My hands took the most abuse: after a couple days of frequent washing (so many doors!!) and using random public sanitizers, I had multiple hangnails on every finger. My skin was so dry I got a bloody cut on back of one hand when it lightly grazed a piece of paper in my backpack. I’m looking at the scar right now.
I was also physically exhausted, having gone from a dismal 4–5,000 steps a day to somewhere between 12–15,000. It turns out suddenly adding a 5k walk to my daily routine after a year-and-a-half of working three feet from the bed was a total shock to my entire system. Seriously, I even had to poop more. (TMI? What’s TMI?)
But now that my body has adjusted, I’ve remembered how much I love walking. It’s a great way to begin and end the workday (noting my privilege here), and it also helps my writing. As Ingmar Bergman once said, “Demons hate fresh air,” and I’ve pushed through many creative blocks just by walking around a while. I’m convinced my brain works better when I’m on the move. And it looks like science agrees.
It’s not all about productivity, though. Walks are fun, and I feel stronger and happier now that I walk regularly again. Walking offers an opportunity to engage with the world at a fundamentally human pace. I notice a lot more when I walk, and I think it’s good for me both as an artist and as a person.
Last week I started reading Rob Walker’s The Art of Noticing, a book of exercises designed to improve the reader’s ability to pay attention while living in an age of distraction. In the introduction, he writes:
To stay eager, to connect, to find interest in the everyday, to notice what everybody else overlooks—these are vital skills and noble goals. They speak to the difference between looking and seeing, between hearing and listening, between accepting what the world presents and noticing what matters to you.
I find walking helps me do this.
And while the book talks about much more than just walking, here are some of the walk-related exercises I’d like to try from it:
Take a photo walk with no camera, carefully imagining the pictures you could take
Walk with an expert, like a neighbourhood historian or a botanist (I’d love to do this with an urban forager)
Walk with a question in mind, then look for clues along the way to answer that question
Take a long walk through an unfamiliar part of town
Randomize your movements by letting luck be your guide (e.g., flipping a coin to choose your next move)
Oh hey, I just noticed the author’s name is Rob Walker. Coincidence or conspiracy?
Anyhoo, I wish you all at least one walk this week that makes you feel a little more alive and connected to the world. Onward and upward.
:) Teresa
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