When we awaken to the call of Beauty, we become aware of new ways of being in the world. We were created to be creators. At its deepest heart, creativity is meant to serve and evoke beauty. When this desire and capacity come alive, new wells spring up in parched ground; difficulty becomes invitation, and rather than striving against the grain of our nature, we fall into rhythm with its deepest urgency and passion.
~ John O’Donohue, Beauty
For so many people throughout space and time, a walk has been a productive, vibrant way to step away from everyday life and gain a refreshed perspective. Aristotle and the peripatetic philosophers walked as a way to inquire philosophically and to educate others. In preparation for his ministry, Jesus walked through the desert for forty days. The Buddha walked for years before he found enlightenment. Indigenous Australians memorized and passed down songlines to trace and communicate invisible pathways across the continent, marking their ancestors’ routes and guiding them across a vast continent. Walkers have walked to gain a sense of place, to improve well-being, to harness attention, to cultivate awareness, to gain new experiences, to explore new territories, to march for freedom, and to express care and devotion for others.
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… May we all show up for this magnificent world and its inhabitants as we walk, kissing the very earth with our footsteps.
~ Bonnie Smith Whitehouse, Afoot and Lighthearted: A Journal for Mindful Walking
Adventure is allowing the unexpected to happen to you. Exploration is experiencing what you have not experienced before. How can there be any adventure, any exploration, if you let somebody else – above all, a travel bureau – arrange everything before-hand?
~ Richard Aldington, 1929
Spontaneity is a meticulously prepared art.
~ Oscar Wilde
Age has no reality except in the physical world. The essence of a human being is resistant to the passage of time. Our inner lives are eternal, which is to say that our spirits remain as youthful and vigorous as when we were in full bloom. Think of love as a state of grace, not the means to anything, but the alpha and omega. An end in itself.
~ Gabriel García Márquez, Love in the Time of Cholera
To enjoy your goals, think of them as signposts, pointing you in a certain direction. They give you a focus and help your energy to get moving. The way you go is up to you; you can get very uptight focusing only on getting to your goal or you can relax and enjoy the entire journey, appreciating every unexpected bend and turn of the road, every new opportunity for learning and feeling
~ Shakti Gawain
Stepping out of the busyness, stopping our endless pursuit of getting somewhere else, is perhaps the most beautiful offering we can make to our spirit.
~ Tara Brach, True Refuge: Finding Peace and Freedom in Your Own Awakened Heart
In my soul, I am still that small child who did not care about anything else but the beautiful colors of a rainbow.
~ Papiha Ghosh
breezes at dawn 