Consequence of Speed (H3)

I felt nothing short of embarassment when I got to chapter 5 of Gros' A Philosophy of Walking. The story he described about the boisterous youths hiking past himself and Mateo could have easily been my friends and I on our hiking trip in Chattanooga two years ago. We had started hiking late in the morning and wanted to get to the top of the mountain before the day's end so we could see the spectacular view. We skipped all the sights on the way up and tore through our tennis shoes to make it up as fast as we could. We didn't care about what was on the way up there, just what the end goal was, much like the same thought process in urban life. The day soared by and when we finally got up to the top, the view was not what was anticipated, and we all left disappointed and exhausted. Reading Slowness reitterated a painful lesson I had already learned about taking things slowly and truly enjoying the outdoors. Being able to enjoy the journey and sights around you can only happen if you don't focus on anything and let yourself glide through the paths. Outside can only be an escape when you abandon societal stresses, sportsmanship, and identity. There's so many thoughts, sights, and ideas you can miss when you focus on speed rather than taking your time and trying to take everything in. Otherwise, you only focus on speed and only speed during your hastened walk. What I've learned now is that taking the time to let walking and outside become an escape is certainly unlocking a key to wisdom and happiness.