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Let’s Take a Long Walk
And not just because it’s a marathon and have to walk to the finish line
Among my friends, there’s a growing interest to participate in marathons.
It’s a healthy endeavour. I’ve seen some actively spare time and sacrifice sherehe time to prepare. I like that the idea can spark commitment.
Long walks are a different kettle of fish. There are no medals to be awarded at the end. No t-shirts to show that you participated in the long-distance movement. No celebratory performances and pictures to be taken at the end. No deadline for payments to participate. No new record time. No time to share on your status at the tail end, showing victory over the distance covered. No closed roads and a preceding memo or circular to warn other road users. Long walks are a different kettle of fish.
A long walk has the quality of a deeply engaging conversation with a curvilinear topography. You never know how you ended up in point B, and you don’t know at what point A began, but you don’t wish for it to stop just yet. When Jill Scott sings, “You’re here, I’m pleased, I really dig your company,” she relates it to the quality of long walks. Her chilled and unrushed demeanor, with a touch of her smooth, gentle, lulling voice, wants you to take the walk with her. I can listen to her sing the whole day and…
