Walk don’t run

In my previous post I ended up writing about the fact that there is often a pressure for everything to be done immediately whereas sometimes we need to embrace going the long way round, taking the slow way.

Since publishing the post it’s a notion that I keep coming back to, perhaps subconsciously I was already embracing the slower way but writing about it brought it to the fore and now I keep musing on it. For example on Instagram I shared a photo of a bee and it struck me that these industrious fellows were proving my point. We know bees are productive, we often refer to people being ‘busy as bees’ but if you watch them, they don’t manically buzz around the way wasps or flies do. They quietly bumble from flower to flower, getting their work done in a timely, thoughtful fashion. I think this is something we need to embrace, that speed is not always of the essence, that if a job is worth doing, it is worth doing well.

Daily writing prompt

What brings you peace?

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In my usual roundabout fashion I am finally going to get around to answering today’s question. This is one of those questions that I would probably give a different answer to each time it was asked but as it has come up now my answer will be taking the slow way. Apart from hopping or perhaps even crawling, walking is the slowest way to travel. This is why people often don’t even consider it as a form of transport in its own right, it’s simply what you do to get to your car, bus, train or whatever. However musing on the slow way reminded me of a wonderful initiative I had read about during lockdown and I’m pleased to see it is still going and growing.

Slow Ways is a website which encourages people to use walking as a form of transport by plotting routes and showing how various towns and cities are connected. It is still in the beta phase but over 1200 routes have already been verified. I love the principles behind the concept, in their FAQ section they explain that one of the benefits of Slow Ways is:

encouraging modal shift – supporting more people to walk more of the time, for more purposes
Benefits of Slow Ways

It’s that final ‘for more purposes‘ that really says it all for me. When people talk about wanting to walk more it’s generally for one specific reason, usually exercise or perhaps mental health but there are actually many benefits to walking more. It can be a way to connect with people or a way to escape them. An opportunity to spend quality time with a loved one or with yourself. It’s a great way to spend more time in nature or simply get to know an area better. It is less stressful than relying on public transport and far cheaper than a car. Yes it takes longer and therefore may not always be practical but I do like the idea of a modal shift away from this indoctrinated belief that faster is better.

I do miss the days when I was able to complete my entire commute on foot but fortunately I can still walk part of it. When you view walking as a form of transport it is much easier to incorporate it within your regular routine. For example each week I know that I will have a half-an-hour walk at least twice a week thanks to my commute to the office. Any additional walks whether for pleasure, relaxation or exercise are bonuses on top of this. Even if factoring a 30 minute regular walk seems too much to start with then why not embrace the idea of a stroll? Even a short walk offers many benefits and then you can build up from there.

It’s also surprising how quickly the de-stressing benefits of walking come into play. For example when I get the train home, I’ll often pop into the supermarket on the way back. More often than not one of the other patrons will do something to irritate me, such as blocking the aisle with their trolley or scooping up a dozen of the baguettes which have just been reduced leaving a single burnt one on the shelf. In the moment it feels as if these people have gone to the shop with the the sole intention of vexing me. I can imagine that this feeling would linger were I to get into a car and then deal with traffic as well. However within a few steps of leaving the supermarket, a sense of calm returns, my breathing slows and I realise that of course there was no deliberate ill will from the other shoppers. Perhaps the person needed the trolley to help them move and simply had trouble maneuvering it, maybe the other individual was buying the reduced items for a food bank. Who knows and really what does it matter? Taking the slow way, allows me time to calm down and let go of life’s daily irritations. If we are constantly on the move then we hold on to these irrational grievances making it much harder to unwind.

So unless you happen to be escaping from The Blob, I recommend taking the slow way – walk don’t run.

That’s how I stroll.