The Road goes ever on and on down from the door where it began. Now far ahead the Road has gone, and I must follow, if I can, pursuing it with eager feet, until it joins some larger way where many paths and errands meet. And whither then? I cannot say. J.R.R. Tolkien
One struggles to find any single habit cited as more conducive to creativity and spiritual health than walking. From Socrates to Gandhi, Nietzsche to Dickens, thinkers, poets, mathematicians, painters, writers, composers, and nature lovers have consistently praised the benefits of a pleasant stroll. Yet little place seems to be left today in our hearts or communities for the stroll. I consider here those elements that make a meditative stroll possible and the state of our current environment. In conclusion, I make a special plea for readers to set off on walks of their own.
The prerequisites for a meditative stroll are both simple and increasingly elusive. A mellifluous auditory backdrop, pleasant visual environment, lack of physical threats, and an easy path will combine to provide a walk of true quality. Consider first the soundscape. The environment must have few jarring noises likely to disturb a train of thought or interrupt a conversation. Bird calls, the sound of waves on shores, the soft soughing of the wind and quiet, regular sounds of all kinds are both acceptable and welcome. A brisk wind or strong surf is particularly conducive to meditative walks as they provide a degree of sonic isolation that turns one’s thoughts inwards. The visual environment cannot be either overwhelmingly beautiful or distressing. Extreme images disrupt an easy flow of thoughts. Ideally, the visual world should provide a backdrop against which thoughts can flow with little interruption. When the eye can travel smoothly across the surrounding without being forced to stop or rest on any particular object, then a meditation in motion can begin. Rolling hills, shadowed forests, soft meadows, and meandering parks provide walking opportunities of quality. Reflective walking also requires a safe environment. Steep cliffs, rapid traffic, or other threats that cause wariness and vigilance focus the mind excessively on the immediate physical environment to the detriment of thinking and feeling. Country lanes are to be preferred over alpine cliffs, and gentle beaches to roaring tidelands. In cities, less traveled byways are to be preferred whatever the scenic allures of higher traffic areas. Plainly, the footing must also be pleasant and somewhat, though not absolutely, regular. Frequent interruptions in one’s pace throw off the sense of physical well being that rises from steady motion. The ability to move freely, paying little attention to where one’s feet fall is another key aspect of the walk. Easy forest byways, grass paths, and soft sand are ideal for ease in motion.
Unfortunately, all of these elements can be difficult to achieve in modern America. Our cities tend to be exceptionally noisy. Cars, buses, trucks, and heavy equipment make astonishing amounts of noise. Further, they tend to do so intermittently. A quiet street can turn shockingly loud with the passing of a bus. That busses and cars need not make this much noise is well known. Engines can be made to run quietly, but as a society we do not put a premium on this kind of noise abatement and thus our auditory environments are often excruciating. Our cities also contain far too many hard, acoustically reflective surfaces. With the exception of the occasional jet, countryside and forest remain pleasant to the ear. The visual environment is also degraded. The bus groaning by will also be painted with a visually aggressive billboard. Highly reflective glass throws a blinding glare off buildings and cars. Garish colors, dissonant architectural elements, and advertisements abound and distract. Many areas of the countryside are blighted by signs, clots of unfortunate housing developments that seem to be designed specifically to clash with the environment in which they are set. Perhaps the greatest threat to the stroll, though, comes from the treacherousness of the modern environment. In many cities, traffic passes at forty or more miles an hour, scant feet from pedestrians. Even in the country, I have had walks along narrow roads thrown into turmoil by a passing truck or car doing in excess of sixty miles an hour. Center Valley road, for instance, which is ideal in so many ways, is marred by the speed of the passing cars and trucks. In sum, our walking environment is often so poor that on whole, our society has abandoned the practice that had been so highly praised for 5,000 years.
Fortunately, our community provides an excellent venue for walking. I praise here the oft lamented 25 mph speed limit first. Every visitor and new resident seems to find the speed limit an imposition on their personal freedom to drive fast and get where they are going in a hurry. For walking, however, the speed limit means all but the most heavily traveled streets are walkable. Cars passing at that speed are little threat and do not unduly disturb one’s sense of well being. Further, at low speeds cars and trucks run more quietly. Even a slight increase to 30 mph seems to be enough to tip the balance and make passing traffic sufficiently noisy and threatening to destroy the possibility of a quality walk. The geography of Port Townsend also provides many winding, little-traveled lanes on which one can walk for miles encountering only a few cars. There are numerous unpaved paths throughout town and, generally, the visual environment is a pleasant mix of well kept gardens, verdant lots, interesting houses, and odd byways. Further, late night or early morning, the entire city opens as an endless pathway for tranquil strolling.
We also have long stretches of walkable beaches. The sonic environment of the beach walk is one of the most emotive. The wash of the surf drowns out most background noises and even a slight breeze isolates one in an infinity of white noise. Nine months of the year, our beaches are all but abandoned and even during the height of summer one will be little disturbed a mile or so from popular areas. Wilderness beckons with nature trails available just outside of town and, within easy driving distance, the Olympics beckon with an embarrassment of walking riches.
Magazine articles, books, seminars, and gurus exclaim methods for awakening creativity, finding your true self, creating spiritual peace, and bringing harmony to the world. However, even a brief review of the historical record will reveal that the most common practice amongst the creative and deeply spiritual has been walking. Granted the increasingly rare boon of an exquisite walking environment, we should follow the examples of Moses, Jesus, Buddha, Lao Tzu, Einstein, Schrodinger, Aristotle, Rama, Wordsworth, Thoreau, Coleridge, Shelley, Homer, Goethe, Muir . . . and walk.