Walking - A Small Rebirth of Well-Being

"When my neighbor walks the dogs, he performs a ritual act of sacer simplicitas, to use the church Latin: "sacred simplicity."  Walking the dog is in truth a ritual of renewal and revival on an intimate scale - a small rebirth of well-being on a daily basis."
-   Robert Fulghum, From Beginning to End

"For someone who walks regularly, their body is better able to deliver oxygen to all systems, including the brain, because they’ve improved their cardiovascular function. Not surprisingly, regular walkers report better mental clarity and ability to focus. Creativity is enhanced because walkers have the ability to relax their mind and let it wander around while they’re walking. Outdoor strollers can have the benefit of beautiful scenery as well as just seeing things from a different perspective, which stimulates creative thought and the imagination.  Whether you want to improve your body, your mind or both, the benefits of walking should encourage you to make the time to do it."
-  Mental Benefits of Walking, Creating a Good Life

"Although the vast majority of walkers never even think of using a walking staff, I unhesitatingly include it among the foundations of the house that travels on my back."
-   Colin Fletcher, The Complete Walker III

"Today I know there is nothing beyond the farthest of far ridges except a sign-post to unknown places.  The end is in the means - in the sight of that beautiful long straight line of the Downs in which a curve is latent - in the houses we shall never enter, with their dark secret windows and quiet hearth smoke, or their ruins friendly only to elders and nettles - in the people passing whom we shall never know thought we may love them.  Today I know that I walk because it is necessary to do so in order to both live and to make a living."
-  Edward Thomas,  A Fellow Walker  

Ways of Walking:  Quotations, Sayings, Poems, Lore  

The Good Life

Mike Garofalo in 1984
Rock Creek Basin, Mt. Starr (12,870')  
Sierra Nevada, CA