“The British-Egyptian heart surgeon Magdi Habib Yacoub goes for a walk every day…
I was curious and asked Yacoub what he had learned from studying thousands of beating human hearts. Yacoub replied, without much ado: “Go for a walk every day.” He assured me that this advice would never grow outdated.”
– Erling Kagge, Walking
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“Many years ago, while walking the streets of Berkeley, my eyes met those of a very old man coming toward me.
He was very thin and wore a pair of white tennis shoes. It was an unusual sight to see a man that old with such bounce in his step. We automatically stopped to talk to each other.
“I’m a walker,” he said.
“That’s what I gather. I’m a walker, too.”
“I walk forty blocks every day.”
I was amazed. “That far? That’s equivalent to three or four miles.”
“That’s right. When I was a young man I used to walk forty blocks without stopping. I still walk that far, but nowadays it doesn’t matter how long it takes me to do it.”
“How old are you?”
“Eighty-five.”
A year or so later I ran/walked into him again.
“Walk every day,” he told me. “It doesn’t matter if it’s in the morning or evening, rain or shine, hot or cold, just get outside every day and walk.”
“Do you still walk forty blocks a day?”
“I’ve changed my mind about that,” he said. “Walk fifteen, thirty, or forty minutes a day. The important thing is to get out and walk. You don’t have to walk fast or go up steep hills, any type of walking is fine. If you keep at it you’ll last as long as me.”
…I sometimes think of that vibrant old man when I’m out for my daily walk. What an inspiration he was to me. Walking made him lively, aware, and in tune with the world. If he was like that in his eighties, then there’s a good chance I can be that old and healthy, too.”
– Joseph Sutton, Morning Pages: The Almost True Story of My Life
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I recently started taking an evening walk myself.
It is good for de-stressing my mind and body.
Often the only other people I encounter are those walking their dog.
They are out and about on behalf of someone else.
I am out for myself.
I don’t need the excuse or duty of a dog.
I know my animal self enough to know that if I’ve been cooped up in car and classroom I need to stretch my legs and lungs.
I have been scratching at the door demanding to go out and exercise.
The walk transforms me.
I return content, happy to curl up in my bed.
I have regained the day for me.
I am my own master and companion on these walks.
Conversations With Quotations 