Reflections on Walking

Walking is an exercise in contemplation for me, whether I walk alone or with a friend, my mind traverses the path in front of me and delves into the deepest thoughts in my mind. I am reminded of the words of Sam Keen on walking in his seminal book, Hymns to an Unknown God:

“Walking, by contrast, is pure grace, an effortless art that produces surprising moments of spontaneous self-transcendence.”

When I walk, my mind leaps ahead, skips steps, and presents me with images and ideas out of nowhere. With surprising regularity the thoughts that come to me when I am in a long hike in the hills contain the breakthrough insights I have not been able to reach after weeks of hard intellectual or emotional work. The solutions to my problems arrive from elsewhere.

Walking re-minds me that my Being is becoming. I’m always going, never arriving. I am no static substance. I have no identity that will not be lost and found and lost again.”

My dog-eared copy of Hymns to an Unknown God, is perhaps one of my most beloved books in my library. Throughout many trials and tribulations in my life, I turned to Sam Keen’s wisdom to ease my heart and mind. His words on walking especially speak to me because I can relate completely to the “surprising moments of spontaneous self-transcendence,” Keen talks about.

As a writer, walking is pivotal for me to clear my head before I delve into the practice of spilling my thoughts onto the page. When I am blessed with a colorful path to walk, as pictured above, nature invites me into the fusion of colors and patterns and feeds my soul with great inspiration.

*Photo: Rhododendrons at Maudslay State Park, Newburyport, MA ~ c. Pamela J. Leavey 2014

Related Images: