Physical movement through the world does something to our psyche. Whenever I get a block while writing at my laptop, if I get up and wander around the flat for a few minutes, a useful thought or idea usually arises.
Many writers have been advocates of walking.
Charles Dickens derived much inspiration from it. He often covered long distances early in the morning, claiming that characters and plots came to him in the process.
Hemingway once wrote: “I would walk along the quais when I had finished work or when I was trying to think something out. It was easier to think if I was walking and doing something, or seeing people doing something that they understood.”
Why is this? What is it about movement through one’s environment that so inspires?
It’s as if the process releases trapped pockets of air in the unconscious that bubble to the surface of immediate awareness.
From a more literal perspective, walking increases blood flow, oxygen, and nutrients to the brain. It also boosts energy and mood by releasing serotonin and endorphins, which no doubt contribute to idea generation.
The same applies on a larger scale. The physical act of travelling somewhere new seems to shift the plate tectonics of the psyche, reorienting old perspectives.
I like to think of God as the dreamer of this universe, or perhaps the video game developer, giving us characters in the video game freedom to navigate the map.
We are avatars in God’s dreamed world. We exist here on Earth to teach God about itself from within, to explore this mind map.
When an avatar moves through a video game, it learns and develops as the game progresses. This avatar encounters others – some who guide, some who threaten – each with their lesson to teach. The negative and positive encounters all serve to set the character up for the journey ahead. The avatar discovers new cities, new worlds and new characters, all of which contribute to development and preparation for the rest of the journey.
In this sense, we were made to move – to use our bodies as mobile satellite dishes, receiving data as we progress with our lives. The inner world of the psyche is infinitely rich. You can stay in your country, in your city, in your house, in your room, and journey immensely in the mind alone. But there is something that cannot be known in this insular space. We are beings of mind, but also of body. The body plays its role.
... The leisure of my daily walks has frequently been filled with charming contemplations, which I regret having forgot; but will write down those that occur in future; then, every time I read them over, I shall forget my misfortunes, disgraces, and persecutors, on recollecting, and contemplating, the integrity of my own heart.
These sheets will only contain a concise journals of my reveries, treating principally of myself, because a solitary must be very much employed with his own person, but if during my walk other ideas pass through my mind, they shall equally find place...
From The Reveries of The Solitary Walker, First Walk.
I used to walk so much until I forgot why. Eventually, unfortunately; I started getting obsessive about my step count. I miss walking; the way i used to once. This reminded me of why. I can’t wait to walk again.