Walks

Tonight I am thinking about walking. I love taking walks. I was reminded of this at 6am this morning when I went to walk the track on campus before the morning workout. I usually don't talk with anyone while I'm walking. Except God. Walks help me to process. They get me moving. They are usually either very introspective times or sometimes they are just times full of space to let my mind wander and zone out. There are times when I walk with friends and these times are filled with meaningful conversation. I'm learning about myself. I love to just be. I love to move. I love to process. I love to look around and see what is around me. I love peaceful moments. Especially those of the morning. I even love being by myself sometimes.

Sometimes we just need to take a walk. Something happens on walks. I'm convinced. Something we all need.

I looked up some poetry and even some quotes about walking and I wanted to share them today.

One of my favorite poems about "walking" is by Antonio Machado, a Spanish poet. I love this poem. A little quick background=the word caminar in Spanish means "to walk" and a caminante is someone who is walking. The word camino means "way" or "path" or "road."

Caminante, no hay camino
Autor: Antonio Machado

Caminante son tus huellas
El camino nada más;
caminante no hay camino
se hace camino al andar.
Al andar se hace camino
y al volver la vista atrás
se ve la senda que nunca
se ha de volver a pisar.
Caminante, no hay camino
sino estelas sobre el mar.

Walker, There Is No Path

Walker, the path is your tracks
And nothing more.
Walker, there is no path
The path is made by walking.
By walking you make a path
And turning, you look back
At a way you will never tread again
Walker, there is no road
Only wakes in the sea.

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"Me thinks that the moment my legs begin to move, my thoughts begin to flow."
~Henry David Thoreau

"Solvitur ambulando, St. Jerome was fond of saying. To solve a problem, walk around."
~Gregory McNamee

"Thoughts come clearly while one walks."
~Thomas Mann

"In every walk with nature one receives far more than he seeks."
~John Muir

"Walks. The body advances, while the mind flutters around it like a bird."
~Jules Renard

"Walking takes longer... than any other known form of locomotion except crawling. Thus it stretches time and prolongs life. Life is already too short to waste on speed."
~Edward Abbey, "Walking"

"Walking gets the feet moving, the blood moving, the mind moving. And movement is life."
~Carrie Latet

"Make your feet your friend."
~J.M. Barrie

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