Ashley G.
Professor Zoller
Life Narratives
10/9/12
Response to “Walking”
by Henry David Thoreau
While I
am not one who really enjoys hiking, I don’t mind strolling through the woods.
Don’t even try to get me to camp but I’ll take a leisurely walk in the woods
(as long as I have bug spray). I see
what Thoreau is getting at, the peacefulness of a walk. He describes “walking”
as something more than simply walking, putting one foot in front of the other. He
speaks of walking with no real destination in mind. I would wager that he used
that time to think and ponder. I may not wander around in the forest but some
of my best thinking happens when I walk on the beach in the cool of the
evening. The act of putting one foot in front of the other in complete and
utter silence of the mind is wonderful. When I walk on the beach I cannot stop
looking at the water, trying to look as far as I can to the horizon. I’m not
sure what I think I’m going to see there but I look none the less. It is
strange there is somehow purpose in a seemingly purposeless walk. I am not
walking anywhere in particular in fact the plan is to turn around and go back
from whence I came. But each step feels purposeful and direct. My thoughts swim
more than normal and things seem clearer. Walking is peaceful.
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