The Highways of the gods
Before talking about enjoying walking, perhaps it would be good to explore the alternative: Why does one not like it? What makes it unfun?
John Burroughs was a 19th century naturalist who hung out with the likes of Walt Whitman (“Leaves of Grass”) and John Muir (think Yosemite Park). Burroughs said that people don’t enjoy walking because “we have fallen from that state of grace which capacity to enjoy a walk implies.” He is referring to our inability to find joy in the common, ordinary things we encounter on most of our journeys. “We crave the astonishing, the exciting, the far away, and do not know the highways of the gods when we see them.”
The “highways of the gods.” I suspect there are some near you. But you’ll need a special grace to see them.
Stay tuned.
About Mike Bellah
Mike Bellah doesn't just write about retirement. He's living it—and inviting his readers along for the adventure.
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