Walking clears my mind of busy thoughts, each step forming a rhythm to think with. It makes me aware of my body and of the ground beneath my feet. In movement, I feel most like myself.
Having said that, it seems that there are some walks in some places which bring more peace and tranquillity than others, but what is so special about these places that they bring more peace and sense of relaxation than others? Perhaps, there are some places and some walks which emit an energy or atmosphere that can be felt. One such experience occurred many years ago while walking past the ruins of a monastery along the river Ouse in York. I experienced it again this week on visiting the site of the hilltop Roman villa shown in the picture here.
What exactly did I experience? It was a sense of peace and belonging. But how, I wondered, did this happen? It is difficult to say. Perhaps, the natural environment was affecting my body and mind. From the shapes in nature to the scents of the trees my environment was stimulating me and setting the mind at rest. And here is German poet, Rilke and his magnificent poem called "A Walk."
Already my gaze is upon the hill, the sunny one,
at the end of the path which I’ve only just begun.
So we are grasped, by that which we could not grasp,
at such great distance, so fully manifest—
and it changes us, even when we do not reach it,
into something that, hardly sensing it, we already are;
a sign appears, echoing our own sign . . .
But what we sense is the wind against us.
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