Walking Away from It All

Above all, do not lose your desire to walk. Everyday I walk myself into a state of well-being and walk away from every illness. I have walked myself into my best thoughts, and I know of no thoughts so burdensome that one cannot walk away from it… Thus if one keeps walking everything will be all right.

Soren Kierkegaard

Recently my website host reminded me that it has now been three years since I started this blog, something that came as a surprise to me. From the beginning it has seemed like an easy and natural process, like walking. The words come easily each week as long as I keep moving.

In the beginning I envisioned this work as a monthly post about the overcrowding of our nation’s trails. I was curious whether other people shared my concerns about the way that crowds and popular culture have changed our experience of wild places. I never imagined that I would be posting weekly and certainly not for three years, but the ideas kept coming, and as I continued my daily walking practice I would often think, “I should write about this.”

Of course there have been times when I sit in front of my laptop staring at the screen, trying to come up with thoughts that are worth sharing with the world. At such times I change my focus from the screen to the trails, thinking back about the different paths that have welcomed my footsteps over the years. Each one tells a story. The rest is easy. All I have to do is write it down.

It is true that we leave our burdens behind as we set foot upon the trail, even though we may be carrying a heavy pack on our backs. In my years as a single mother my days were never easy, especially as I was building a career at the same time my two little girls needed me everyday. Once a year, despite limited resources, the girls would spend a week with their dad or their grandparents, and I would go off into the mountains alone with my backpack. Almost immediately I would feel the cares leave me, like a small stream tumbling down a mountainside surrounded by moss and monkey flowers, and it was not simply because I had walked away from my daily life with its demands. There was something about being on the trail, feeling its certainty beneath my feet, allowing my arms to swing freely, being present with the satisfaction of feeling my body move forward one step at a time. It did not take long to discover that I could achieve these same feelings at home by going for a walk in the park. The act of walking moves me through the difficult places in my life. It never lets me down.

This is why going for a walk is so often recommended for individuals struggling with depression. When the depression is severe, even getting out of bed in the morning can be too much to manage, but on those occasional down days that we all have, going for a walk can shift the mood from sad to glad.

Recently I have been advised once again that I should “take it easy” as I try to ease the discomfort of a hip injury. It is winter, and as I write these words it is well below zero here in the Okanogan Highlands, so going for a long walk in the woods is not particularly appealing right now. And yes, I grudgingly will acknowledge that “taking it easy” can be beneficial at times, as it was for me last winter after I fractured my shoulder. But what really made me feel better was going for my first hike in May, not because my shoulder no longer hurt. . .it most certainly did. . .but because I felt the familiar thrill that never lets me down when I go hiking.

So I will keep on hiking as long as I can stand upright and can put one foot in front of the other. While I’m at it, I’ll leap over those streams, wave at a the flock of geese in the sky, and perhaps pause to do a little dance now and then. I call it jumping for joy.