This morning I went on a walk, the first walk of hopefully many. I've always used my own two legs as main mode of transportation. Whenever I would read about walking as part of one's practice, I would think something like: 'I don't need that, I already walk everywhere!' But yesterday it hit me: I walk, I move my legs, I go from A to B, but I don't go on walks. I always need a reason, a goal, to walk. But this morning I walked not to go somewhere, but to enjoy some time outside. I only picked up my phone to take a couple pictures (and send one to my mom: purple flower buds poking their heads out between the grass) and didn't use my earphones. I sat on a bench for a few minutes, just to enjoy the sound of water traveling over stone. I took notice of my wandering thoughts, the color changing sky and the songs of birds. I even heard a woodpecker, although it was a bit too good at hiding from my view. I'm trying to make this into a habit, these morning walks. And if mornings don't work out, I'll try evenings. Maybe then I'll finally truly understand what Rebecca Solnit and William Wordsworth were writing about. “Me thinks that the moment my legs begin to move, my thoughts begin to flow.” wrote Henry David Thoreau. This sentence has always bothered me. I find it quite ugly. But I know Thoreau was right. My thoughts can't flow when I'm sitting still all day. I can feel my thoughts going around in circles, the way I've seen tigers walk around in zoo cages. No wonder I haven't been able to write. My thoughts must be getting tired of seeing the same view everyday.
