Walking

Where not to be.

I walk daily around my own neighborhood. I think it is unfortunate that most people in America do not. I can count on one hand the people I see regularly strolling through my area. 

The dependence on the automobile has been as disastrous for the many as it has been beneficial for some. In rural areas, the car or truck is a valuable tool for maintaining community. In metropolitan areas, the car has nearly eliminated public transportation. Those who can afford to pay taxes to fund public transport are the least likely to use it. It is not popular with the middle class. 

Cars have also ruined the pedestrian nature of villages, towns and cities. Shopping malls have replaced commercial centers which were once integrated into residential centers. Even here in my urban neighborhood, the nearby shopping center is a vast parking lot lined with box stores. The pedestrian accommodations are minimal and risky. SUVs and cars dominate, even though a large portion of shoppers access the shopping center on city buses ans subway cars.

I recommend walking to anyone who wishes to remain healthy as age advances. Every nonagenarian I've known has been a walker for extensive periods of their lives. I am not referring to hikers or trekkers. I am referring to urbanites who chose to walk rather than drive as a daily practice. A walk to the store for a newspaper in the morning. A stroll through a park in the afternoon. A walk to do errands during a lunch break from work. 

I have lost my ability to walk farther than my bed to a chair twice in my life so far. Both times I rallied from my disability through gradually walking a bit farther each day. I strongly believe that this has significantly extended my life, despite dealing with two life-threatening illnesses. Walking is part of my daily health practice. 

If you haven't spent time walking in your neighborhood recently, I highly recommend it whether you are young or old or somewhere in between. It is healthy, but it is also enlightening, if you pay attention and interact with your environment along the way...just like any other form of practice.