Thoreau obviously believed in the importance of walking and used it avidly. I was surprised by what I learned about Adams and walking. He also enjoyed being in open country and "thought nothing of walking five to ten miles per day to 'rouse the spirits'". Now of course these men lived in a different time but they both seemed to know and understand the power of walking, how it made them feel better and think clearer.
I had my 5th graders on a field trip today and we were walking around the USU campus and some of them had a hard time. We live in a very different world and in some ways not a better one. Does anyone walk just for fun or to rouse the spirits? We probably don't have the same open country and of course we have all types of exercise but maybe good old walking is better!
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I know what you mean. What I often do right after Spring Break, to get my kids up and walking, is that we walk to "Disneyland" I find out the miles between my school and Disneyland. Each day we walk at least a mile each and count up how many miles our whole class walks each day, then we subtract it to the amount we have to walk. I usually make a map that we use a sticker of Mickey to show how far we have come. The kids look forward to it and it keeps them enthusiastic about walking. When we have all the miles walked, we see a Disney movie and bring in some pop corn for snacks. Over the years, I usually have one or two students that are overweight or just couch potatoes. At first they may hide in the playground equipment, but when I see them I have them walk with me for a couple of weeks. After a while they start looking forward to it and are proud of themselves. I have students come and seem me few years after I have had them, seeing if I am still walking to Disneyland. They find that they like walking!
ReplyDeleteWalking for the purpose of pleasure and reflection is so different that walking just to get the health benefits. I get tired of the healthy living part, but fully enjoy those times that I can just walk and enjoy the outdoors and the peace.
ReplyDeletei keep being drawn to a comment by thoreau in "walking" he said that sometimes he is in the woods an hour physically but his mind is still back in the town. i have the walking part down, but it is a rare occasion that i can clear my head of all of the commotion and just walk and enjoy my surroundings.
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