Recall the Simple Weight of a Latch and the Luxury of a Day Spent Just Wandering.
One cannot help but feel that those of us who grew up in the nineties saw the final pages of a far more patient world. In those days, the most vital engagement in the day was often nothing more than a long walk.
It was a time when walking was an act of leisure rather than a chore. We would simply step out from the house, perhaps joined by a neighbor or a sibling, and drift along without any particular place to be. The world felt wider then; we took the time to look at the sky or the handsome, sturdy brickwork of the houses we passed.
There was a genuine stillness to that way of living. If we ran into a friend, we naturally stopped to talk. We would bide our time by a garden gate or on a street corner, giving the conversation our undivided notice. Our thoughts stayed with us, private and unhurried.
I am quite sure our spirits were more settled when we let our feet set the pace. Perhaps it is time we returned to that steadier way of life, put on our shoes, and found the simple comfort of the long walk once more.