We all know that walking is good for your health, especially in the case of retired old codgers [walking.org].But I have always thought, intuitively, that walking was not only good for the body but also the mind.
As Rebecca Solnit points out in her book Wanderlust: a history of walking, walking is the defining characteristic of human development related to the development of thinking itself. For Solnit, walking "is one way of maintaining a bulwark against this erosion of the mind, the body, the landscape, and the city" that modern life engenders. [ RMMLA ]
Now there is clinical scientific evidence that walking for the over 50s can boost memory and delay the onset of dementia. The landmark University of Western Australia study was published this week in the Journal of the American Medical Association. [The Australian ]
That is good news for codgers, do more walking to live longer and keep your mind working. And at the same time, by increasing your footsteps and staying out of the car, you can reduce your carbon footprint.
But it is not always smooth going for urban walkers. Time for a grumble! I hate the signs that tell you "No Through Road". It means I guess that you cannot drive a vehicle through, it is a dead end for automobiles. It does not tell the poor old pedestrian whether there is a pathway through. Why can't we have signs that indicate whether there is a way through for a pedestrian. The sign could read "No Through Traffic" when there was no way through for vehicles only or "No Way Through" when there was no way through for vehicles or pedestrians. It's not that hard, is it?
[The picture of my footsteps through the sand was taken on Narrabeen Beach during a walk I did recently from Mona Vale to Collaroy on Sydney's Northern Beaches. For more pictures go to: Narrabeen.]
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