Louis Michael: Walk with life

All my life I’ve lived near the same field, and all my life I’ve crossed it to get to the bus stop on the other side. But it’s only recently that I’ve begun walking round it.

One of my writing teachers at university once told me that we should try and walk four miles and write four pages everyday. Now I’ve never been good at estimating distance in my head but upon first hearing that I thought four miles sounded rather excessive, and a bit unmanageable. Who had the time to walk four whole miles everyday? I didn’t imagine that not only would I go on to follow his advice, but actually have to force myself to start heading home whenever I’m out walking.

It’s done nothing short of change my life. Humans were not made to spend their lives moving from one building to another. It is not natural for us to spend every waking moment inside, confined by four walls, a floor, and a ceiling. It is the ultimate self-imposed gilded cage. We come from nature, and it is within nature we should remain. For me, the proof of that is in the way walking clears my head like nothing else. When I’m out in nature the thoughts in my head seem to unbundle, like headphones finally being untangled. The tranquility of the grass and the trees dissolves all the unnecessary baggage we unknowingly accumulate without my even noticing, and I come home every time feeling refreshed and revitalised.

It’s often said that it’s the little things that count. When I hear that phrase I think of walking now. The simple act of going outside and moving through nature holds so much magic and power within it. In that simplest of acts we can reconnect with our most ancient ancestors, exploring the natural world around us with nothing but our two legs, as we have done for millions of years.

Please, as a matter of urgency to your mental and spiritual health, take the time to go for a walk this week. Spend as long as possible walking through nature. Be alone with nothing but your mind and mother nature, and see what happens.