It can take so many years to become a good walker, but it is worth the thought and effort. I was camped in such a nice place and with such good weather that I fell easily into a slow, leisurely sauntering. Perhaps the slowness helped me spot a pretty and rare orange flower, at the beginning of November. At this time of year? Flowers seemed completely out of place, here.
A couple days later, the small handful of such flowers was gone.
I have always appreciated autumn flowers. They are, to the more voluptuous flowers of early summer, what a sturdy, dependable 35 year old wife is to a beautiful 19 year old girl.
Having a good role model certainly helps one become a good walker, and you know who mine is:
If you think I praise dogs too much, the photo above shows that humans can add something positive to the world. What care somebody had gone to, in building this emergency shelter! Still, dogs really do have the right attitude to being good walkers. They allow a world of possibly interesting things make such an impression on them -- possibilities steer their direction.
Contrast a dog's meandering to human hikers, with their clenched fists, with their athletic egos stamped on their foreheads. Everything is about How Far? and How Fast? to them. Walking, to them, is a grim exercise of their wills. (Notice that I avoid the word 'hiking' for that reason.)
Instead, walking should be about forgetting about your own ego. Let interesting things smack against you, alter your mood, and bump you in a new direction.
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