A Philosophical Walker

A picture (taken from Google)of the Offa's Dyke trail.


I'd like to be a walker. Oh, sure, like any able-bodied person over 15 months of age, I CAN walk. I just avoid it -- especially in this heat, especially without the right shoes and the right weather and the right clothes...Especially at the end of the day when my feet are tired...I have a million excuses.

But I like the IDEA of walking, and when I actually do it, I like actually walking, too. I like seeing the details you miss seeing when you drive by, even at the neighborhood-friendly speed of 25 miles per hour.

In a 2002 op-ed piece published in the Deseret News, Bruce Northam recounted the experience of meeting a walker in Whales, where he had undertaken a 200-mile trek along Offa's Dyke, which separates that country from England. I was so charmed by the piece that I recorded the following excerpt in my book of quotations:

The roaming gene should not become out-selected over time. Walking never disappoints; it's a whimsical celebration of right now.

We met an elederly woman clutching wildflowers and asked, "Where are you going?"

She said, "I'm already there. I'm already there!"

So then we asked her, "What is the secret to a long and happy life?"

"Moments. Moments are all we get. A walker understands this."