Not Walking, but Moving.

(H3) This week’s focus on walking has fallen on deaf ears, as I’ve done most of my thinking sitting in the comforts of my car. Christopher Orlet made an excellent point on motion in his Gymnasium of the Mind by mentioning J. Robert Oppenheimer’s love for driving and contemplation instead of walking. The idea that we are thought to be creatively contemplative not by simply walking, but solitude and put in motion in general, opens us up to a different philosophy. The physical symbolism of movement makes a connection to emotional and mental change. As a worrisome pedestrian, getting myself to walk in the evening or early morning is a challenge, but there was a moment of bliss when I found myself driving passed by friend’s exit and beyond where I was familiar with. On the highway in the late evening you can find the right amount of solitude for contemplation and escape. There aren’t as many health benefits as walking, but one can still escape from the worries of the world in a car. We are separate from nature in this instance, but can still marvel at the sights around us to draw wonder and inspiration. It also matters that we are outside rather than inside, where constant distractions prevent productivity. Nature is not empty, but the life outside of the human jungle is one not plagued by deadlines or solid identity. We are allowed to just exist alongside it. Should we sit dormant with, however, we begin to lose all of the benefits we tried to gain as philosophers. So then, is taking a wrong turn to the grocery store any less beneficial or philosophical than taking stroll in the park?