Here’s a novel idea: go for a walk.
The health benefits of walking are well known. It’s good for your heart, your mental and emotional health, helps with weight loss, and improves mood. It presents the walker with the opportunity to observe and interact with their neighborhood.
The novelist Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. used to tell a story about going out to buy an envelope. His wife is dubious. As Vonnegut said:
Oh, she says, well, you’re not a poor man. You know, why
don’t you go online and buy a hundred envelopes and put
them in the closet? And so I pretend not to hear her. And
go out to get an envelope because I’m going to have a
hell of a good time in the process of buying one
envelope. I meet a lot of people. And a fire engine goes by.
And I give them the thumbs up. And ask a woman what kind
of dog that is….
The sense of place – of belonging – that walking creates is priceless.
English language dictionaries define the French word flâneur in unflattering ways: “idler,” “lounger,” “loafer.” When compared to our Gallic counterparts, how puritanical Americans seem. In a cityscape packed with skyscrapers, each walk must have a destination, a purpose. One must never stroll but always bustle briskly onward, headed to that meeting, that sale, that event.
The flâneur has a purpose, all right, though it might baffle the businessman with its contradictions: one walks to lose oneself and, in the process, find something. A serious – if unstructured – journey through the urban jungle could lead to unexpected moments of beauty, a fresh appreciation of the poetry of the every day – and of the ever-changing ways of a city.
Federico Castigliano elaborates on this notion in his book Flâneur: The Art of Wandering the Streets of Paris: “Free and alone in the maze of the city, the flâneur craves a revelation that might change his life and destiny. He seeks to capture and eventually to preserve, through artistic or literary expression, a new form of beauty in accordance with the aesthetic criteria that were in the process of being defined in modern European culture.”
And if you find a new café or boulangerie along the way, even better.
Walking is a way of knowing and understanding where you live. It can also play a part in understanding yourself. Nothing frees the mind like walking. Unbidden thoughts arise, presenting fresh solutions to old problems; memories appear; you appreciate as never before the present moment. You may even feel grateful to be on this beautiful but troubled planet.
“Awesome” is a versatile word that came to popularity due to teen movies in the 1980s and 1990s. Everything from a one-handed catch in a baseball game to a professionally mowed lawn is deemed awesome. But awe is exactly what Dr. Dachner Keltner, a professor of psychology at the University of California, Berkeley, hopes people will experience when going for a walk.
A recent article in HuffPost focused on Dr. Keltner’s new book, Awe: The New Science Of Everyday Wonder And How It Can Transform Your Life.
Awe, the good doctor tells us, is good for what ails us. It deactivates the part of the brain he calls “the default mode network. That’s where all the self-representational processes take place: I’m thinking about myself, my time, my goals, my strivings, my checklist. That quiets down during awe.”
It does the same thing for the vagus nerve, “the big bundle of nerves starting in the top of your spinal cord that helps you look at people and vocalize…[Awe] slows our heart rate, helps with digestion and opens up our bodies to things bigger than us.”
Can it get any better? Turns out it can. “Awe also cools down the inflammation process. It’s part of your immune system that attacks diseases, and we want it to be cooler and not always hot.”
How does Keltner suggest we find awe? He recommends – what else? – an awe walk. Setting time aside for activities that inspire awe and feed our sense of wonder can range from visiting an art gallery to simply looking at the sky with its constellations and cloud formations. Dr. K. specifically talks about the emotional and physical benefits of experiencing awe for seniors, but slowing down and savoring the moment is something everyone can benefit from.
Young or old, we can all use a mindful walk. So come on – stretch out. Breathe deep, get out there, look around you, and do…nothing. Just be.
And, while you’re at it, you might pick up an envelope or two.
