Rebecca Solnit’s essay “Walking and the Suburbanized Psyche” is an excerpt from one of her books, “Wanderlust: A History of Walking”. This essay primarily focuses on the devaluation of walking in today’s world. She argues that our society no longer appreciates the idea of walking. According to Solnit, industrialization is one of the core reasons why our society has started to devalue walking. It has almost made it impossible for people to walk due to the rapid development of the suburban areas which have limited the use of public spaces. She argues that devaluation of walking has caused a tremendous effect to our lifestyle, nature, and imagination. Moreover, she argues that if our society continues to devalue the importance of walking, people will never be able to admire the beauty of the nature surrounding us as she thinks that suburban areas have encouraged people to use private spaces to reach their desired destination. As per the views of modern society, walking is considered as powerlessness or a lower social class. Due to the prevalence of transportation systems such as cars, local trains, and busses people have completely lost interest in the act of walking. She also states that this problem generates negative effects on human bodies, minds, and souls. I agree with Solnit’s point of view on the devaluation of walking by our society, people progressively start losing their power of imagination, a peace of mind and a healthy lifestyle which can propel them towards a dull and monotonous life.
Walking is one of the easiest and effortless ways which helps us to stay fit and healthy. People assume that going to the gym is the only way which can help them remain healthy. Due to this assumption, people have gradually started to neglect the value of walking and have forgotten the benefits of walking. Most people believe that going to the gym for an hour or two can be good enough for them to remain fit and healthy. Nevertheless, I believe that the idea of walking should not be completely neglected, and people should understand the importance of walking.
Research has concluded that walking can be beneficial for a human body and soul. Walking helps us remain active throughout the day. Moreover, it tends to reduce the chances of severe problems like high blood pressure and obesity. A good walk stimulates our bodies and helps us to stay active and productive throughout the day. In modern society, people tend to use different means of transportation to go to nearby places. With that being said, using cars and other transportations can lead people to an unhealthy lifestyle. This behavior can also change their food intake as well. Walking after a meal helps us to speed up the digestion process as well. However, as the act of walking is being compromised, we are not taking the full advantage of the idea of walking.
Walking in a natural environment also helps to attain a peace of mind. It helps us to relax our bodies and souls which leads to a healthier and positive life. Unfortunately, in this world of technology, people have completely ignored to value the idea of walking which can certainly impact children in a negative way. I have seen many people playing video games and surfing on social media to relieve stress (“Hopler, Whitney”). Devaluation of walking can be harmful to the upcoming generations. Nonetheless, like meditation, walking in a clean environment can clear our minds and souls. It tends to activate our brains which allows us to think better and faster. Moreover, it is also considered as a great stress buster. Often during a day, I get frustrated and feel suffocated sitting in my room all day and the one thing which comes to my mind is to go outside and take a good walk. Walking in the open air resets my mind which refreshes my thoughts and ideas. It boosts my motivation to complete my work as it helps me to gain a clear vision and better ideas. Likewise, the essay “Wild” by Cheryl Strayed is similar to Solnit’s idea. In this essay, the author, Strayed impulsively decides to go on a 50-day hiking trip as she was very devastated with the fact that her mother died because of lung cancer and her husband divorced her because of her drug abuse. Strayed began her journey completely by herself in order to endeavor her identity and meaning of life. (103) During her journey, she engaged in tremendous things with the wilderness. Nonetheless, after she completed her challenge, she achieved a peace of mind. Solo walking in the wilderness helped her to think positive things about herself and helped her to fight her past. Likewise, if we begin to value walking we will be able to achieve a peaceful and positive mind.
The act of walking plays a major role when it comes to imagination. Walking tends to boost our power of imagination and level of creativity. Exploring the world through walking helps us to gain different perspectives. We see different people doing different things; things that help us to think out of the box. A good and relaxing walk enhances the mood because when people do something productive during a day, they always tend to have a good feeling about themselves. By walking outside around nature, we often tend to relax our minds by not thinking about a particular thing repeatedly. Furthermore, it also helps us to spark our imagination as we walk with a calm mind, we often tend to look things in a positive way. Similarly, rather than passing time in my room and playing videos games or watching tv shows, I prefer to go out and do something productive as it makes me feel refreshed and satisfied. Likewise, walking encourages us to boost our mood which in turn spreads positivity and enhances our minds. (“Hopler, Whitney”)
I believe that each individual should go out for a walk every day in order to achieve a healthy and enduring life. Reduction of walking can have an adverse effect on our lifestyles because it makes our lives unimaginative and mundane. While keeping an account of the benefits of walking, people must acknowledge the significance of it.