March 25, 2023

"William Wordsworth swore by walking, as did Virginia Woolf. So did William Blake."

"Thomas Mann assured us, 'Thoughts come clearly while one walks.' J.K. Rowling observed that there is 'nothing like a nighttime stroll to give you ideas,' while the turn-of-the-20th-century novelist Elizabeth von Arnim concluded that walking 'is the perfect way of moving if you want to see into the life of things.' And ask any deep thinker about the benefits of what Bill Bryson calls the 'tranquil tedium' walking elicits. Jean-Jacques Rousseau admitted, 'There is something about walking that animates and activates my ideas.' Even the resolutely pessimistic Friedrich Nietzsche had to give it up for a good saunter when he allowed, 'All truly great thoughts are conceived while walking.'"

From "Whatever the Problem, It’s Probably Solved by Walking" by the writer Andrew McCarthy (NYT).

My second post today about walking. But that's how it goes. Things come up when they come up, and I blog them as I encounter them, as if there's so such thing as saving them for a better place in some more curated sequence of posts. No, we must stumble ever forward.

Now, just on the topic of Wordsworth's walks, may I strongly recommend this episode of Frank Skinner's Poetry Podcast, "Wordsworth Revisited: The Leech-Gatherer"? Here's the poem it's about, "Resolution and Independence."

And here's McCarthy's book, "Walking with Sam: A Father, a Son, and Five Hundred Miles Across Spain" (Amazon). How old was the son? 19.

    38 comments:

    madAsHell said...

    I frequently walk on trails between beaver ponds in a nearby park.

    The frogs are croaking, the birds are singing, and nobody is interrupting my thoughts.

    Lurker21 said...

    Walking did not end up so well for Virginia ...

    Chest Rockwell said...

    Walking is my go to exercise. Clears the head and relieves stress. It's totally underrated as a way to lose weight and maintain cardiovascular health.

    It helps having a Golden Retriever that needs to be walked twice a day, every day of the year.

    Old and slow said...

    This is why I would never listen to music or audio books while walking or running or rowing. It is a meditative state when you have to entertain yourself within your own mind. I also prefer not to have company. You either chat or feel like you ought to be unless the other person is especially comfortable with silence.

    Yancey Ward said...

    Definitely true- I am a firm believer in the idea.

    n.n said...

    Hiking, climbing, sitting, away from dissonant sights and sounds, in close connection to nature.

    Njall said...

    Schopenhauer walked an hour after dinner to the end of his life. And he’s probably the smartest guy I ever read!

    Phaedrus said...

    I once read a collection of letters by Thomas Mann during his SoCal exile. A leitmotif was that the Post Office could not decide his house was in Pacific Palisades or Westwood. I think we can file that under "Nice Problems to Have".

    Phaedrus said...

    I once read a collection of letters by Thomas Mann during his SoCal exile. Besides how wonderful a place it was for walks, a leitmotif was that the Post Office could not decide whether his house was in Pacific Palisades or Westwood. I think we can file that under "Nice Problems to Have".

    rmarkob said...

    What a coincidence - I just read this article five minutes before reading this post: https://www.barrons.com/articles/joys-of-a-walking-trip-a3fea932

    Look forward to reading Andrew McCarthy's book, since I did the Camino de Santiago in Sep/Oct 2021.

    rmarkob said...

    What a coincidence. I just read this article not five minutes before reading this post: https://www.barrons.com/articles/joys-of-a-walking-trip-a3fea932

    I look forward to reading Andrew McCarthy's book. I did the Camino de Santiago in Sep/Oct 2021.

    rhhardin said...

    Don't forget the tour of the seven bridges of Konigsberg

    PM said...

    Lucky to live next to a mountain. Wife/I hike 2-4 miles daily. Streams banging from CA storms.

    Assistant Village Idiot said...

    I am pleased to be able to walk a great deal in retirement. Sometimes I listen to podcasts and dictate ideas for posts into my phone, sometimes I daydream, sometimes I try to work through a very specific set of ideas. Sometimes I even notice my surroundings!

    Not only does it work in bad weather, it may work especially well in bad weather.

    Ambrose said...

    I can't get the thought out of my mind of Willian Wordsworth swearing while walking. "F-ing Tintern Abbey, What?"

    Biff said...

    My first reaction was to suggest a need for a "Homespun Bullshit" tag, but that's not quite right. I'm looking for a pithy way to describe homespun bullshit that is gussied up by the NYT to become highfalutin' through association with literary figures and assorted intellectuals. The Germans probably have a lengthy compound word that does the rick.

    Old and slow said..."This is why I would never listen to music or audio books while walking or running or rowing. It is a meditative state when you have to entertain yourself within your own mind. I also prefer not to have company."

    Even if you're young and fast, it's best to avoid headphones while walking or running alone in the woods. You shouldn't make it too easy for critters of all kinds to sneak up on you.

    rcocean said...

    Nietzche was a great walker. Then he went nuts. Correlation?

    Other great walker? Harry Truman. Charles Dickens, and President Adams (son of the first).

    Not great walkers? WFB (too boring). FDR. LBJ. Lincoln. Stalin. Churchill.

    And Hilter? wanted to retire after WWII, and walk around nothern italy, painting and seeing the great art.

    rcocean said...

    OH, I forgot GK Chesteron. A great beer drinker and walker. I try to walk as much as I can, but don't have time. Will walk more when I retire.

    khematite said...

    By contrast, Blaise Pascal in 1654 noted that "All of humanity's problems stem from man's inability to sit quietly in a room alone."

    Aggie said...

    I can attest that it certainly works for me, and always has - either with another, or by myself.

    Temujin said...

    Walking is my go-to alone time. I love my morning walks. It is where I do my best thinking. In the evening my wife joins me for a shorter version. Both are wonderful 'getaways' from our routines, from the computer, or TV, or whatever else we're plugged into. It's a reminder that outside of all the noise, the world exists and it keeps going with or without our participation.

    McCarthy's book sounds like the movie "The Way", by Emilio Estevez, starring his father.

    B. said...

    Virginia Woolf’s not exactly a trusted advisor for mental health practices.

    William said...

    When the gym shut down during covid, I took up walking. My arthritic knee got better. Haven't been able to solve any profound problems though.

    Marc in Eugene said...

    I used to listen to music while out walking but, for the reasons others have already mentioned, I don't any longer. My walks are happier without it.

    The 400th anniversary of Blaise Pascal's birth is in June; I forget the date.

    gpm said...

    Just noticed the Bill Bryson tag here. Presumably for the great A Walk in the Woods, not otherwise mentioned. I originally read the first chapter in Outside Magazine, which I devoured for decades before it became largely worthless. I've also read the Bryson book (and most of the rest of his oeuvre). Not without faults, but an interesting writer.

    --gpm

    AtmoGuy said...

    I completely agree. I am an attorney who mostly drafts briefs and other documents, and whenever I am struggling with how to structure an argument or to address a thorny issue, I step away and take a walk. I used to do laps around my floor when I worked for a large law firm, and now that I work from home, I either walk around the block or just wander around my house for a couple of minutes. It doesn't take long. There is just something about moving your legs that resets the brain.

    glacial erratic said...

    I've always hiked or walked, but once I retired, I stepped up my game. Now I just pick a direction and walk 3 or 4 miles before starting back. Or I find a park I haven't visited before, and challenge myself to walk all the trails. It's better than sitting in a recliner in front of the tube. And, of curse, the dog prefers it.

    boatbuilder said...

    I do a lot of walking. I think deeply about major questions, like "Can I get over the pond with a seven-iron?"

    It keeps me sane.

    stlcdr said...

    Can one assume that Wordsworth was not listening to podcasts while he was walking?

    Rusty said...

    I enjoy walking and try to do two and a half miles a day outside. At the end of the day I usually wind up with four or five miles. My neighbor, Barb, walks everywhere. For summer fun she'll walk around Lake Geneva.

    Old and slow said...

    The Camino de Santiago is definitely on my list of things to do once I have a bit more time.

    Mikey NTH said...

    I agree. When I am stumped I take a walk and let things percolate. Usually clears things up pretty well.

    Narr said...

    boatbuilder--you know Twain's crack, I'd wager.

    "Golf is a good walk, ruined."

    typingtalker said...

    I meet fewer interesting people while pedaling my stationary bike in the basement than while walking outside. On the other hand, it seldom rains in the basement.

    Martin L. Shoemaker said...

    Author Kevin J. Anderson dictates a chapter a day while hiking up into the Rocky Mountains. Then, since he has to get home, he dictates another chapter on the way down.

    I’m not as productive as Kevin, but I sometimes manage 3,000 words per hour on my treadmill.

    bobby said...

    I shoot for eight miles per day, but as the season gets warmer, I find the experience less and less contemplative.

    Have to scout the ground for rattlesnakes, you know.

    Rollo said...

    Nietzche was a great walker. Then he went nuts. Correlation?

    No, that came from his being such a great wanker ...

    Rollo said...

    Nietzche was a great walker. Then he went nuts. Correlation?

    No, that came from his being such a great wanker ...