A Reason for Walking

Why do you walk?

Sure, to get from here to there. But do you ever walk for any other reason? When the subway breaks down? For exercise or contemplation? Do you walk while confiding in a friend? While teaching a child to walk? To heal your mind and body? To more solidly crystallize an idea? Have you ever gone out for a walk, for apparently no purpose other than to get fresh air, and you’ve solved a previously intractable problem? Solvitur ambulando.

Then again, have you ever walked to support a cause or in search of a cure?

This afternoon, about an hour’s drive south of Ubud, on the beach in Kuta, some people set out on a walk around Bali. Not just any kind of walk; their mission is to help the homeless and underprivileged children of Indonesia. So the two Sole Men of Bali, ex-pats both, will be walking a total of 500k– in bare feet – through different parts of the island to raise awareness about, and funds for, these disenfranchised kids.

Good for them: Barefoot around Bali. Perhaps they’ve coaxed a few friends to sign onto their charitable adventure. I wish them a blister-less journey…

Meanwhile, just after sunrise yesterday, I headed out on a foot-covered stroll of my own; a solitary walk of peace, remembrance and hope: It was my own version of this the Susan G. Komen Walk for the Cure, taking place in Washington, D.C.

Honoring OJ and the many women who valiantly bore the burden, pain and anxieties associated with breast cancer last year; and who continue to survive through this body- and soul-shaking dis-ease, I walked in memory, in deep thought, and collecting light and flower power (!) for the constellation of women who wear the pink badge of courage and survivorship.

To the women – and men no less – in my life, who are beacons of light and love – you know of whom I speak; I walk also for, and with, you. Reason enough.