Why we walk?

“Isn’t it really quite extraordinary to see that, since ‘man’ took his first step, no one has asked himself why he walks, how he walks, if he has ever walked, if he could walk better, and what he achieves in the walk.

Questions that are tied to all the philosophical, psychological, and political systems which preoccupy the world.”  

Honoré De Balzac

‘Wanderlust.’ Rebecca Solnit. Granta Publications.

The ‘act’ of walking

“There are few greater delights than to walk up and down them in the evening alone with thousands of other people, up and down, relishing the lights coming through the trees or shining from the facades. listening to the sounds of music and foreign voices and traffic, enjoying the smell of flowers and good food and the air from the nearby sea.

The sidewalks are lined with small shops, bars, stalls, dance halls, movies, booths lighted by acetylene lamps, and everywhere are strange faces, strange costumes, strange and delightful impressions.

To walk up such a street into the quieter, more formal part of town, is to be part of a procession, part of a ceremony of being initiated into the city and rededicating the city itself.”

J.B Jackson, “The Stranger’s Path.”

‘Wanderlust.’ Rebecca Solnit. Granta Publications

Why do you walk?

Join the conversation and share your walk.

steve@towalkproject.com

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