WALKING: SOME RANDOM THOUGHTS
If you look up a dictionary
to find out the meaning of ‘walking’, it may
tell you something like this: walking is movement on feet with at least
one foot always on the ground.
This definition is so
simple and so short. It is the briefest description of lifelong physical activity,
which is natural to all living beings. As for humans, they have to walk till
the last step in their journey of life,
Walking is one of the best exercises. I once asked an old man in his nineties how he
treated his ailments. His reply was “By walking”. ‘‘All ailments?” ”Yes all.” It surprised me but he was quite sincere
in his reply.
Experts on walking believe that we
pay a heavy price for the comforts and conveniences of civilisation. We get into
a car and are trapped by the whims and peculiarities of the road makers.
Whereas the medical profession is sharply divided on
running, it is unanimous on the value of
walking, a medicine that costs nothing and has no side effects.
The delights of walking and its
dividends to the body and the mind are too valuable to ignore.
British novelist Charles Dickens (1812-1870) says:”
Walk and be healthy. The best way to lengthen out our days is to walk steadily
and with a purpose. The wandering man knows of certain ancients, far gone in
years, who have staved off infirmities and dissolution by earnest walking ---
hale fellows, close upon ninety, but brisk as boys.” Add to this quotation a short verse by William Shakespeare (1564-1616):
“Jog on, jog on, the
footpath way,
And merrily hent the stile-a;
A merry heart goes all the day,
Your sad tires in a mile-a.
This is what Walt Whitman (1819-1892)
said in his Leaves of Grass:
Afoot
and light-hearted I take to the open
road,
Heathy,
free, the world before me,
The long brown path before me leading wherever I choose.
Henceforth I ask not good-fortune, I myself am good fortune,
Henceforth I whimper no more, postpone no more, need nothing,
Done with indoor complaints, libraries, querulous criticisms,
Strong and content I travel
the open road.
And finally, an anonymous piece The Road quoted by the
Indian writer Mulk Raj Anand (1905-2004)
in his autobiographical novel Seven Ages: “I love roads, I Iove lanes
and streets: I love to walk, walk, walk, for it is an opportunity for thought developing
into a clear process, often leading to self-illumination and discovery,
thanks to the sound of one’s own
footfalls. Walking is not merely physical exercise keeping the body fit;
it is a spiritual training leading to the
preservation of the being itself.”
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5th
June 2021 G.R.Kanwal
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