Walking as a Metaphor for Life

“Walking is life in miniature,” wrote Suzy Cripps (The Joy of Walking 2020). “To pay attention to walking is to pay attention to life itself.”

We English teachers would say walking is a metaphor for life. Understand one, and you’ll better understand the other. And maybe that understanding can translate into practice. If you get good at one, you’ll become better at the other.

Maybe.

Maybe experiencing the joy of walking will help me get more out of life itself. Cripps seems to think so:

“Walking, like travel, presents a sense of possibility, of spontaneity and of freedom.”

Translation: if you and I find possibility, spontaneity and freedom in walking, we’ll find more of the same in life.

I hope so. I certainly hope so.