“Above all, do not lose your desire to walk. Every day I walk myself into a state of well-being and walk away every illness. I have walked myself into my best thoughts and I know of no thought so burdensome that one cannot walk away from it. If one keeps on walking, everything will be all right.”
~Soren Kierkegaard

Are you a walker? I have been looking through several of my books about pilgrimage in preparation for a journey to Ireland at the end of September and found this quote embedded in one of the photos. The image was of a winding path that seemed to go on forever into a distant pastoral scene. I have to admit that just looking at this picture and imagining myself walking on that path brought about a certain state of well-being.

It has been my experience that there are many forms of walking. For many years a woman walked with great speed and purpose through our neighborhood. Feet were picked up and laid down at a jarring rate while her arms swung like v-shaped propellers at her sides. She was clearly walking for exercise and her health. Imagine my surprise when I saw her one day, moving at this quick speed, arms flying and feet pounding, while also moving a cigarette to her lips! Her walking was, I guess, helping her walk away her illness.

Now that we have the big black dog living in our house, I have become one of those folks who is a dog walker. I have often thought this is a misnomer. Truly it is the dog who walks the human. But walking with our particular immense being is much like walking with a toddler. Stop and start. Stop and start. We have to check out each and every interesting odor along the way. This walking, mostly, fills me with amazement at the gifts of scent sleuthing available to him, a gift that is lost to me his lowly human companion.

Personally, I like to walk along the river. Walking along something that is also moving at its own rhythm, its own pace helps connect me with the inner rhythms I so often ignore or fight against. On the riverside I find myself moving in a more relaxed way which allows my mind to slow and my heart rate to go to some contemplative place. Like Kierkegaard, this kind of walking often brings me to some of my best thoughts and actually allows me to lay down all that is burdensome at the riverside. It is probably as close to walking prayer as I ever get. Watching the barges carrying enormous loads pushed by the tiniest of tugboats becomes a lovely and inspiring metaphor.

Have you taken a good walk lately? Have you put on your most unattractive shoes, the ones that are also the most comfortable and walked out into the world? Are there things going on in your life that could be helped or even cured by a good walk?

My husband often says that what most people really, truly want is to be told everything is going to be o.k. No matter the state of the world or the bulk of their wallet, most people just want to know that everything is going to be fine. I think it is true. In the midst of some of the crisis we experience or those we allow our imaginations to create, we really just want to know that, in the end, all will be well. Walking can bring about that perspective. Walking alone can do this. Walking with a friend or trusted companion can do this.

So my prayer for you today is that you find a few moments to walk. Whether at a quick pace for exercise or at a leisurely one that mirrors the flow of the river, I pray that in your walking you will hear the sweet voice echoing within: ” All shall be well.”