Embracing the Power of Movement

“Walking is the only form of transportation in which a man proceeds erect - like a man - on his own legs, under his own power. There is immense satisfaction in that.”

― Edward Abbey, Postcards from Ed: Dispatches and Salvos from an American Iconoclast

There is certainly something to be said about being in motion, as in walking motion - the human birthright of perambulatory motion. This is when and where one is on the move with a purpose; a goal, aim, or destination in mind.

And given that our contemporary culture is such a sedentary one these days, there is most likely a whole lot that we not only need to say, but there is much that we need to do to rethink, and re-enliven, this experience of being in motion as well. We do need to get the "gears" moving if we truly wish to plumb the depths of the walking experience, and I suspect that the rest of the population - especially the media-saturated element of it - is in more than dire need. But how does one communicate the need and convey this wealth of possibility?

It's quite problematic, and the decks are stacked against the likelihood perhaps.

But never-the-less, quite simply (and yet most profoundly perhaps), for me, being in motion is what makes me feel good - "good" as in being alive and fully engaged in this journey that I call my day, week, month, and year(s).  Much of the cultural standard fare today - the "fare" that feeds and fosters our appetites - is based upon our feeling not good but dissatisfied. A dissatisfaction born out of the consumer-driven economy that never wants to satiate our urge to buy and consume ever-increasing amounts of "things" that the advertisers do their best to convince us will energize, enliven, and transform our sense of self. Fast "foods" for the heart and soul that malnourish the mind and glut the "belly of belief" regarding human fulfillment.

Rousseau said that his mind worked only with his legs and that when he stopped walking he stopped thinking. I wholeheartedly agree with that realized fact and heart-felt conviction as it is born out of personal experience. But that makes me wonder then if by way of default, that these times we're in thoughtless? Thoughtlessness goes hand in hand with immobility and lifelessness on the screen of virtual reality. Movement and thinking, after all, are so inextricably intertwined and connected that I sometimes fear that we are indeed best categorized these days as "lifeless" and "thoughtless".

So, I've been thinking about that a bit lately because I've been doing a little walking, and absolutely nothing relative to any long-distance walks. But I haven't been idle in the sense of no movement, for I walk a fair bit within my daily routine even if I'm not on a walk or ramble in the usual sense. Since the departure of a rather tenacious winter season, I've been logging many hours walking and working in my garden, trying to get it ready for the growing of those summertime vegetables. And even though I'm moving around and about the garden, it's not the same quality of movement experience as when I do go for a walk. My thinking (while in my garden) is more confined, and less expansive. Very satisfying, and highly contemplative in its way, but the largess of possibility is diminished. My thoughts and thinking are more pot-bound and static, while my sympathies lie closer to home. It's an experience that is still good by all standards mind you, but like Adam, I suspect that my ultimate undertaking of the journey lies beyond the scope of the garden. The garden will no doubt nourish my body, but the heart and soul need the revelations coming from the perambulations taken from the richness found farther afield.

So, this "lifeless" and "thoughtless" human state (which is what a state of depression is all about really) and the realm of possibility won't dictate any state of depression in me. Words such as unhappiness, sadness, melancholy, melancholia, misery, sorrow, woe, gloom, despondency, low spirits, a heavy heart, despair, desolation, hopelessness, upset, tearfulness, the doldrums, the blues, a funk, or blue funk will not be grown in any garden of the soul that I tend to and will be banished to the compost pile to await further transformation! These characterizations of clinical depression may await those who choose not to be in motion perhaps. Still, I have learned the lessons of walking well enough where the seemingly simple act of placing one foot in front of another, coupled with a heart bent upon adventure, is the true treasure at the end of the rainbow.

So, what must we do?

Commit to being in motion. Commit to that perambulatory act that is the hallmark of human gesture. Do it now, for as Goethe so aptly reminds us:

“Until one is committed, there is hesitancy, the chance to draw back, always ineffectiveness. Concerning all acts of initiative and creation, there is one elementary truth the ignorance of which kills countless ideas and splendid plans: that the moment one definitely commits oneself, then providence moves too. All sorts of things occur to help one that would never otherwise have occurred. A whole stream of events issues from the decision, raising in one's favor all manner of unforeseen incidents, meetings, and material assistance which no man could have dreamed would have come his way. Whatever you can do or dream you can begin it. Boldness has genius, power, and magic in it. Begin it now.”  

A bold deed within the inertia of our contemporary times where such simplicity of means is often more associated with the finger click of a mouse and originating out of those who have mastered the technological wizardry of the virtual realm. So, start it now; do it today and discover the real magic that flows from that choice.

Go for a good long walk and live into the power of movement!