The slow death of purposeless walking
Posted by glen from www.bbc.com
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MarkBlemish, mhughey, Chet_Manly and 8 others like this
"A number of recent books have lauded the connection between walking - just for its own sake - and thinking. But are people losing their love of the purposeless walk?"
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MarkBlemish 9 years, 12 months ago
I totally need my walks. On one walk I came across a man who had escaped from a mental hospital, helped him find a bar where he was meeting up with some friends (at the end he gave me a ball point pen and thanked me). On that same walk I came across some horses that had gotten out of their area (I never looked at it as escaped man and escaped horses) and reported them to campus police who I later saw rounding them up. Met a few scary people (I usually walk at night) and lots of friendly cats. It is the relaxed pace, the being able to stop and look, to think, to get over a bad mood, pray. Gotta walk man.
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glen 9 years, 12 months ago
Walks are amazing. Sounds like you have some great stories to tell from yours, too.
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Chet_Manly 9 years, 12 months ago
Glad to see this issue come to light. After an elliptical left me temporarily unable to squat due to the creation of a hip flexor imbalance, I started walking to loosen up. It felt great and after two months of tightness & discomfort, the issue was resolved in a week and a half. Now I walk to spend time with my various family members, but I also enjoy walking while moving weight in a push, pull, drag or carry. Simple waking has so many possible variations but I've never seen the issue discussed culturally until now. Also...my walks are boring compared to MarkBlemish's but I think I'm content with that.
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jcomeaux 9 years, 12 months ago
I remember long walks as a kid, 7th or 8th grade, with our huge golden retriever Chunky. Me and old Chunk would log 10 miles a day in the summer through the woods in the back of our house. I feel like I was way more centered back then. Guess I need to pick that habit back up again...just wish old Chunk was still around to come with.
Thanks for posting this glen.
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emtay 9 years, 11 months ago
Love this. Two years ago I was getting up at 5 am to go to my local flat park and running laps around the track to train for a Tough Mudder. It bored me so I started running around town with my head phones blaring in my ears. This too became boring but I stuck it out until the TM. After that I had a year and a half of inactivity and twenty extra pounds tacked on. Three weeks ago I started waking up and walking my lonely country road with staff in hand and my dog by my side. The first morning out I heard the birds and whippoorwills, saw the dark shape of a deer cross my path just feet in front of me, the dog flushed a bunny rabbit out from the brush and I heard the first turkey in twelve years of living here off in the distance. As the sun rose I could hear the neighbors rooster start up and I knew these early morning walks was where its at.
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