Day 42
Walking with other people on a daily basis is a little bit like stepping into somebody’s basement to watch them…do laundry.
Like sorting colors or adding bleach, each person has his own personal walking style — something that seems absolutely natural & necessary to you, but to the rest of us seems, basically, wierd.
Since the unexamined life is the best kind / for dumb people / not for people on the East Coast uh, not what I’m aiming for, here are a few ‘with or without’ questions that have come up on my daily walks with others.
With or without coffee? I say everything’s better with caffeine.
With or without I-pod? Not necessary for me.
With or without cell phone? Better to have it, but not use it.
With or without a banana (or an apple — c’mon guys!) in your pocket? Depends — what kind of fruit did you have in mind?
With or without the dog? Sarah’s my simplest walking companion.
With or without a destination? Some days yes, some days no.
With or without special sneakers? With or without gloves & hat? With or without sunscreen?
With or without getting in the car?
With or without a camera?
With or without a purpose?
With or without others?
With or without judgement? With or without intention? With or without guilt? With or without a guardian angel? With or without a higher power? With or without an inner light?
Sometimes the thing we think is an absolute necessity turns out to be the thing that’s weighing us down. Sometimes letting go of our deepest attachments is the most liberating thing we’ve ever done.
Over the years I’ve been shocked to find that the person, habit, or crutch I thought I couldn’t live without turned out to be just the thing I needed to let go of.
I’m willing to try almost anything once — playing rap music on my I-pod while I’m out walking, washing my whites and darks together, walking in pink sandals or flip flops, following instead of leading, walking a mapped route in the shape of a ketchup bottle (yes, there are programs that can do that!).
Or, conversely, leaving all that behind and just walking out the front door of my house, my hotel, my beach shack, my ski chalet, my pied-à-terre…you get the idea.
Just don’t expect me to leave the house without my morning coffee!
November 12, 2009 at 9:49 AM
Great stuff. And the big one: with or without lipstick? xo Laura
November 12, 2009 at 4:07 PM
I had a big challenge yesterday when I went to go out on a 9 mile walk and discovered my iPod battery was drained. I couldn’t put off the walk, as rain was predicted to be coming in three hours.
So I “put my big girl panties on” as a friend would say, and boldly stepped out without any tunes or podcasts or walking buddy to chat with. Just me and the song running through my head and the traffic noise and nature sounds.
I planned to circle back home after a half hour in hopes the battery would have charged a bit. But the weather was holding and I was in a rhythm, so I just kept going. I realized that I didn’t have to avoid walking alongside noisy streets, so after I was four miles from home I took a shortcut back that was on a busy street. It was interesting to see it at walking speed. The bikini barista was indeed serving hot drinks from her kiosk with a swimsuit top on. Several shops had closed up in the past few months. All things harder to detect from the car.
I made it home at 6 miles and grabbed my now-charged iPod and went out for another four miles. It was no better with the iPod than without. I guess that shows that you don’t always need a crutch. And that my own brain was good company, at least yesterday.