It's not just for peripatetic philosophers...
No talking. No podcasts. No music. Just some time alone with your thoughts.
Walking in silence is an ancient tradition rooted in mindfulness, a form of meditation that helps people focus on the physical sensations, thoughts and emotions of the present moment, without any judgment.
The fact that the silent walk is nothing new has attracted a chorus of critics; "Gen Z thinks it just invented walking," they say.
To that, Arielle Lorre, 38, a content creator in Los Angeles, had to laugh.
"Fifteen or 20 years ago, this would not have even been a conversation," said Ms. Lorre, who has often discussed the benefits of silent walks, most recently on her podcast and on TikTok. But silent walking feels relevant right now because many of us have become tethered to our devices, she added.
The question then becomes: "How do we counteract that?" Ms. Lorre said.
Walking is a well-established balm for the mind and body. Research has shown that walking for as little as 10 extra minutes a day may lead to a longer life. And a 2020 study in The Journal of Environmental Psychology found that a 30-minute walk in an urban park reduced the amount of time that people dwelled on negative thoughts. Walking has also been shown to improve creativity and help fend off depression... nyt
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Silent walks are great, but so are walking-and-talking walks. This guy just needs to learn how to shift walking-gears:
No, I don't want to go for a walk with you
Walking is a solo activity, and no one is going to convince me otherwise.
"...Like most humans, I am a terrible multitasker. Invite me on a walk and I will struggle to keep up my end of the conversation because my brain cannot unlearn that walking time is thinking time, my mind wandering as widely and aimlessly as my feet..." nyt
This is actually super relevant to my life right now. I bike to school and work, so I spend a lot of my time commuting via said bike. I used to always use this time effectively by listening to a new album or catching up on some content. Actually, come to think of it, this wasn't just on my bike - this was in every part of my life. If I'm washing the dishes, I usually have YouTube on, if I'm cleaning or doing really anything that doesn't require direct focus, I'm usually listening to something. Lately though, I've found myself being overstimulated. Over the past year or so, I've found myself sitting in silence more and more. I'm not even sure it's a conscious effort most of the time. However, I'm riding my bike home without headphones in more and more lately, and it's really nice. I hadn't considered this a form of mindfulness, but I suppose that's what it is. I've been just appreciating the sounds of the city, the cluster of cars, the wind as I pass through it. There's definitely something to just being connected with the world in that way. Does that mean that listening to music or podcasts to pass the time is bad or insuperior? However, it's definitely not a bad call to spend some time with your thoughts and exploring the sounds of the world.
ReplyDeleteBlaise Pascal was exaggerating, but also had a point: “All of humanity's problems stem from man's inability to sit quietly in a room alone.” Or walk down a lane with one's own thoughts for company.
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