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llcoolvadI've been thinking about my physical world lately. I mean my ability to BE physical, and specifically my ability to be more directly in the world.
I was a pretty active kid: bike riding all summer, running around like a wild thing from dawn to dusk, always in motion. I'd also go for long walks with the dog every day. I was in marching band in junior high and high school. When I got a little older and would be hanging out with my friends, sometimes we'd miss the last bus home at night and instead of calling a cab we'd just walk from Cambridge to my home in Watertown. Or we'd start our night by taking the bus into Cambridge and then walking from Cambridge to Boston. When I got to college no one had a car so we'd take public transportation and then walk. Basically until I started to drive in my mid-20s I walked and rode my bike everywhere.
Once I got my license I pretty much stopped all of that. It was a time-saving move. Sure, I'd wander around when I was exploring new places, but mostly I was busy trying to live life—get from one place to another to work jobs, go to classes, whatever. I didn't leave a lot of time for walking around. And I gained weight and eventually got a lot less able to walk around for hours. I also developed the car mindset: you get places by driving somewhere and parking. Maybe by taking public transportation, but only if it gets you really close. When I injured my knee I felt like I would probably never do a lot of walking again. And until recently, I didn't.
It changed one day when I realized that I'd never left my apartment on foot—I'd walk out the door and get into a car. I lived one block from my downtown strip, and I'd never ever walked to there. So I decided to just do it.
And now, ten months later, here I am. I've been walking a couple of miles a day several days a week. I've been exploring my immediate surroundings on foot from work and from home. And here's the big thing I forgot: it feels really good. I shouldn't really be surprised by it all, but I am. I am bored stiff by walking on a treadmill, but give me fresh air and something to look at, and I'm pretty happy.
So there's my big secret! I like to walk.
I was a pretty active kid: bike riding all summer, running around like a wild thing from dawn to dusk, always in motion. I'd also go for long walks with the dog every day. I was in marching band in junior high and high school. When I got a little older and would be hanging out with my friends, sometimes we'd miss the last bus home at night and instead of calling a cab we'd just walk from Cambridge to my home in Watertown. Or we'd start our night by taking the bus into Cambridge and then walking from Cambridge to Boston. When I got to college no one had a car so we'd take public transportation and then walk. Basically until I started to drive in my mid-20s I walked and rode my bike everywhere.
Once I got my license I pretty much stopped all of that. It was a time-saving move. Sure, I'd wander around when I was exploring new places, but mostly I was busy trying to live life—get from one place to another to work jobs, go to classes, whatever. I didn't leave a lot of time for walking around. And I gained weight and eventually got a lot less able to walk around for hours. I also developed the car mindset: you get places by driving somewhere and parking. Maybe by taking public transportation, but only if it gets you really close. When I injured my knee I felt like I would probably never do a lot of walking again. And until recently, I didn't.
It changed one day when I realized that I'd never left my apartment on foot—I'd walk out the door and get into a car. I lived one block from my downtown strip, and I'd never ever walked to there. So I decided to just do it.
And now, ten months later, here I am. I've been walking a couple of miles a day several days a week. I've been exploring my immediate surroundings on foot from work and from home. And here's the big thing I forgot: it feels really good. I shouldn't really be surprised by it all, but I am. I am bored stiff by walking on a treadmill, but give me fresh air and something to look at, and I'm pretty happy.
So there's my big secret! I like to walk.
