Walking: The Wonder Drug

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Walking is the epitome of minimalism.  With reasonably comfortable shoes, all you need to do is step outside.  Begin any time, and go anywhere.


We all know that walking supports physical health, improving heart function, strengthening joints and muscles, even boosting immune response.  According to Dr. Thomas Frieden, former director of the Centers for Disease Control, walking is "the closest thing we have to a wonder drug."


But walking can do even more.

If the day is fine, any walk will do.
Annie Dillard


walking in spring - photo by Cole Keister on Unsplash



A history


This simple activity that you've been doing since you were about a year old is something you might take for granted.  My grandsons walk with boundless energy.  They're never tired.  They accept that I may sit to rest on a convenient bench along the way, but they never need to.


I remember walking with my father when I was quite small.  Our regular destinations were the public library and park about a half-mile from our home, so Daddy carried a full book bag each way.  Still, he walked so fast that my brother and I trotted to keep up with him.


Sadly, my own children never took walks with their grandfather.  By the time they were mobile, Dad had ALS (Lou Gehrig's disease) and used a cane or a walker to go short distances.  Later, he was in a wheelchair.


My husband grew up backpacking with his father and brothers.  And years ago, Jon and I hiked on the California coast and in Yosemite.  We enjoyed so much beauty and cherished the time together.


But today, I sometimes have difficulty walking.  Minor scoliosis has worsened a bit with age, and pulls my sacroiliac (SI) joint out of alignment.  That makes one leg slightly shorter than the other, which also stresses that knee and ankle.  I often need to take Jon's arm while walking, and my son (who is also my massage therapist) wants me to get a cane.


So walking, for me, is not as simple as it once was, although I'm grateful not to suffer the impairments my father had.  I'm blessed to be able to move around with as much freedom as I do.  Some people would give anything to be able to walk.





Why we walk


A few years ago, a friend of mine took a long-planned trip to Spain.  His 45-day odyssey covered the Camino de Santiago, the time-honored pilgrimage to the shrine of Saint James the Great in Santiago de Compostela.


Luther spent two years in preparation, studying Spanish and walking up to 12 miles every day, often carrying a weighted pack.  At the age of 67, he completed the partly-mountainous, nearly 500-mile French Way.  For him, it was not just a very long walk.  It was a spiritual experience, a life-affirming challenge, and an opportunity to get up close and personal with beautiful terrain and a rich cultural heritage.


For Henry David Thoreau, walking was also a spiritual experience and an opportunity for adventure.  Not just a workout, walking was a chance to explore freely, observe closely, and think deeply.


Our modern penchant for bringing electronic devices on a walk would certainly defeat Thoreau's purposes.  As I sit writing at my kitchen table, I see through the window many people walking on the sidewalk 30 feet away.  Almost all wear earbuds or stare at a phone, separated from their surroundings, unmindful even of the dog whose leash they hold or the child whose stroller they push.

A man may walk abroad and no more see the sky than if he walked under a shed.
Henry David Thoreau


Many great poets, writers, artists, and musicians were known as prodigious walkers, including Wordsworth, Dickens, van Gogh, and Beethoven.  Walking was their exercise, entertainment, and inspiration.  Some took the Latin motto Solvitur ambulando, "It is solved by walking."  Modern creatives like author and illustrator Maira Kalman and poet Mary Oliver* have followed suit.


But most of us spend our time sitting and get our ideas online.  I confess I watch too much Netflix.  Maybe you spend too much time on news, social media, video games, or e-shopping.  And maybe we all have what astonished Thoreau, "the power of endurance... of my neighbors who confine themselves to shops and offices the whole day for weeks and months, aye, and years almost together."


* This blog is supported by you, dear reader.  If you purchase through my links, I may earn a small commission.




Explore your everyday world


Did you ever have a dream of being truly free?  Perhaps you could accomplish this by walking.  You wouldn't rush – you'd saunter, observing places and people, connecting with your surroundings and mulling over the thoughts they inspire.  You could do that now, even if (perhaps) your backpacking-through-Europe days are behind you.

My dream is to walk around the world.  A smallish backpack, all essentials neatly in place.
Maira Kalman


You don't need to make a round-the-world trek.  If you're able, walk out your door today, not just to your car, and not just to run an errand.  Even a few minutes spent walking around the block, just you and your senses, may inspire you.  Breathing deeply will oxygenate your blood, boosting your energy, sharpening your thoughts, and easing your stress.


Thoreau suggested that we undertake even the shortest walks "in the spirit of undying adventure."  You can open your mind, spirit, and creativity as you explore your everyday world.  Every step is a reminder that you're still here, still active, and still ready to live and learn.





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