most people are kind of surprised, given my penchant for skyscraper heels often augmented by a chunky platform, that one of my favourite activities is walking. seriously, i don't even need a place to go, i can just stroll out the door and motor, with no aim but burning off the excess energy that builds up if i don't manage to get outside for a little while every day.
even while at work, i try to take a few minutes for myself and at least take a brief stroll around the industrial park where my current office is located, just to clear my head and have a respite to think about things that are on my mind, rather than those that are necessarily on the collective workplace mind.
the fact is, when i'm stuck inside all day, because i'm too busy or because of weather, i tend to get edgy (edgier -ed.) and often grouchy (grouchier -ed.). i need to get rid of some of that pent up energy or lives may be lost. i guess i'm a little tightly wound...
there are lots of things to enjoy about going for a nice walk. the sense of disconnection from the things that usually surround you. the chance to observe your fellow man, which is often good fodder, i find, for creative activity. the chance to get wrapped up, if you have an appropriate portable device, in whatever music is currently fascinating you.
what i love most about going for walks, though, is because of the subtle subversion they represent. after all, we live in a society where we feel bound to purposeful activity. taking a walk with no aim other than walking, other than taking in one's surroundings, is in a small way a revolutionary act. after all, you're doing something that doesn't contribute, that has no practical purpose (i suppose you could argue that keeping healthy is a purpose, but i don't really think of my meanderings as an exercise regimen), that does not lead to any commercial activity and that can take away time from other activities that could be practical, productive and, hence, sanctioned. yes, you could say it's a waste of time, but i choose to view it as reclaiming time, doing something with it that is purely selfish. and i firmly believe that indulging that selfish urge probably keeps other ones at bay.