A walk.
Expansive moments, profound possibilities
“Walking is how the body measures itself against the earth.”
Taking a walk is one of the simplest ways to slow down (mentally), return to the present moment, and release stress. It’s also a wonderful opportunity to explore your neighbourhood or city. There are always some hidden gems to be found, untold stories behind each door (waiting to be freed), and beautiful moments to capture. The photo below is from a walk I took yesterday in my neighbourhood in Istanbul - Gültepe -which literally means ‘Rose Hill’.
The blue skies, colourful buildings, satellites, clothes hanging from the lines, and sunlit streets - are in relationship with me - I expand into them and revere in their beauty, imperfections or not. Times like this remind me that a walk is more than movement; it’s an invitation to discover expansive moments—when the ordinary transforms into something profound, offering connection to beauty and possibility in ways we often overlook.
A snapshot of Gültepe, Istanbul
“All truly great thoughts are conceived by walking
”
A walk invites us to dance freely in a place of imagination and intuition. It’s also the best way to alter your perception of reality if you’ve been having a heavy day. It connects body, mind, and spirit, grounding us in the present and allowing us to truly be; walking allows us to be “human beings” - as opposed to “human doings”.
Even if you live in a chaotic part of the city, by approaching the hustle and bustle with curiosity, you uncover not only hidden details but insights, connections, and a renewed sense of wonder about the world around you. I think that’s what it’s all about really. A renewed sense of connection to the world we’re embodying - the Earth, the planet, the ground we are walking on - and our relationship to everything within it and around us.
And you never know what you may find if you take a road you’ve never gone down...
One of my favourite poems (and I’m sure a favourite for many) is Robert Frost’s The Road Not Taken because I believe it beautifully captures the essence of endless possibilities in the simple act of a walk (amongst other thoughts of course)…
“Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.”
Next time you’re out for a walk - take a road you never go down. Explore your neighbourhood with new curiosity - maybe even as if you were an alien experiencing it for the first time. Why not? A walk is an act of becoming, of weaving yourself into the world around you. Treat it as a dialogue—between you and the Earth, between what is known and what’s waiting to be discovered.
The Road Not Taken
Robert Frost, 1916Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.
