The Joy of Walking: A Philosophy

It is only ideas gained from walking that have any worth.

Nietzsche

The joy of walking transcends setting; it engages the mind as well as the spirit.

-- Lauren Elkin.

In an interesting book, Philosophy of Walking, Frederic Gros explores the connection between
philosophy and walking.

Think while walking, Gros writes walk while thinking, and let writing be but the light pause, as the
body on a walk rests in contemplation of wide open spaces.

Here are my thoughts on walking.

- History of Walking and Philosophers

Socrates walked about the Athenian marketplace, questioning people as they go about their
business.

Aristotle taught as he walked along the corridors of the Lyceum. His followers were known as the
Peripatetic school. (The literal meaning of Greek word peripattikos, is "of walking" or
"given to walking about".)

Thoreau spent much time walking and extolled the value of walking in his essay On Walking. He
writes, I found my account in climbing a tree once. It was a tall white pine, on the top of a hill;.. I
was well paid for it, for I discovered new mountains in the horizon which I had never seen before
so much more of the earth and the heavens. I might have walked about the foot of the tree for
threescore years and ten, and yet I certainly should never have seen them.

Even social revolutions start with walks. The non-violent marches of Gandhi and Martin Luther King
Jr. are good examples.

We cannot walk alone. And as we walk, we must make the pledge that we shall always march
ahead. We cannot turn back, King promised in his speech, I Have A Dream.

Often, religious pilgrimages involve walking up steep, unending mountainous paths or long street
processions as acts of faithfulness.

Poets, such as Wordsworth and Frost, had also found inspiration during their walks in nature.

I wandered lonely as a cloud

That floats on high o'er vales and hills,
 When all at once I saw a crowd,
A host of golden daffodils;
Beside the lake, beneath the trees,
Fluttering and dancing in the breeze. William Wordsworth

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood

and sorry I could not travel both
.
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I --
I took the one less travelled by,
and that has made all the difference Robert Frost

- The Meaning of Walking

Walking is an active, embodied action. We walk as one united Being, inseparable in body and mind.
During walks, the body interacts with the environment and the mind. We are stimulated, receive
random thoughts and feel various sensations all at once.

Walking is always a walking away from something and moving towards a horizon. Walking away is an
escape, but also an act of defiance. Walking brings us from inauthentic life to authenticity.

Walking, hence, is searching-for an alternative life, an aspiring act of faith in future possibilities.
Walking is making connections with a new life. Heed Thoreaus advice, If you would get exercise, go
in search of the springs of life.

Walking is an act of freedom. You can walk wherever as you want to. Theres a sense of randomness
and surprises in walking.

Conclusion

Trekking, hiking, exploring new places while strolling about are various forms of walking that can
de-stress, stimulate creativity and add new meaning to our lives.

The unplanned surprises that meet us during such activities can force us out of our comfort zone and
challenge us with new ways of living. As Thoreau says, Life consists with wildness. The most alive is
the wildest. Not yet subdued to man, its presence refreshes him.

Walking is good exercise and keeps us actively engaged with life.

Notes

https://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/21/books/review/a-philosophy-of-walking-by-frdric-gros.html

http://www.newyorker.com/tech/elements/walking-helps-us-think

This draft was written by Wyle Tan in response to Gross Philosophy of Walking.