As I walked home from the train station the other night I was thinking about how I travel. In the past my general approach to travelling has been to get there as quickly as possible, because the destination is the most important thing. I have now come to the conclusion that rushing to get somewhere is a bit of a rubbish thing to do. So I have devised a set of things which I should try to do whenever I’m going somewhere. These collective things will constitute strolling, which is different from just plain walking and certainly not the same as rushing to get somewhere.
- Strolling should not be done too quickly.
- When strolling, you should take the time to actually look at your surroundings and try to really take them in.
- To show other people that you are strolling, you should smile and say hello to them
- When strolling you must not worry about what time you will arrive (which means you should probably set off extra early)
- At some point during your stroll, you should pause to thank God for something beautiful you have seen (if you are paying attention this won’t be difficult!).
At least some of these principles can be applied to other methods of travel too, especially public transport.
On top of this, encouraged to break out of the British mould by this post by Dave Bish, I have been chatting with people quite a bit when I’m using public transport. I have been very surprised at just how easy it is to chat with people, and how much happier people look when they’re given the chance to talk to people instead of having to sit silently for the whole journey!
Strolling and chatting have given me a much greater appreciation of the world around me, and of the people around me. I would heartily recommend them both to you!