to go somewhere useful

I am trying to change my attitude toward walking. I love walking, and I often do it for fun and exercise, but I am trying to look at walking as one of my legitimate transportation options. I have lived in Gone West for nearly two and a half years. I've never had a car here, so I've gotten quite adept at the bus and train lines, but I am only now starting to see that many of the places where I go by train or bus could be easily reached on foot. For example, I sometimes wait fifteen minutes for a train to take me two stops across the bridge so I can walk to one of the trendy new neighborhoods. It takes me ten minutes to walk those two train stops.

And so, I've started walking for the purpose of actually getting somewhere. I walk to Trader Joe's, forty blocks from here (although I do take the train back when I'm loaded down with a gallon of milk and sundry other heavy items). I walk home from work, thirty-five minutes along the water. I walk to my friend's apartment across the bridge. I walk down over the highway to a new coffeeshop.

It's a whole different way of looking at things. Instead of wondering how many bus transfers I would have to make, I'm starting to ask how long it would take to walk (and sometimes, now that I have a new tire pump, to bike). I like looking at walking this way. It is much more satisfying to arrive somewhere with tired legs than it is to hop off a bus, slightly motion sick. It is much more satisfying to walk when I have a purpose. I can feel my legs growing strong as they carry me. I can feel my blood flowing. Walking to get somewhere makes me feel alive and strong. My body feels useful. My bag gets heavier as I go, as I make stops to pick up things I need for my life.

That, and I see the flowers as I walk. I say hello to the woman working in her front yard. The man walking his dog nods to me as the dog sniffs my open hand. I can see life as I walk, and I can be a part of it.