I've been thinking a lot about transportation lately, and how moving from point A to point B has become a matter of waiting in a metal tube. And of course it is amazing to be able to cover hundreds of kilometers in a few hours, but this requires us to relegate the "moving" to a machine instead of our body. Transportation puts us in a passive relationship with movement. And if movement weren't linked to autonomy, but alas...
As I exit the subway station after my commute, I've realized the city and all it's incredible complexity, has been completely flattened (by my bum sitting on a chair). The artifice of transportation, by allowing us to go ever further faster, has also taken away the weight of every step. The beauty of self direction and exploration. I believe it might also be making us take movement for granted.
I cycled home a few weeks ago, and there was something incredible about getting myself across the city by the sheer strength of my body. I also rather enjoyed choosing my own route, pausing and evaluating my surroundings, before jumping back on the pedals. Moving yourself requires paying attention. It requires presence. I can't walk and mindlessly binge YouTube, all I can do is be in reciprocity with my environment and my body.
Anyway, I decided I would forego the passive route and walk myself to where I want to be. That's a city 8941 km away from my current spot. And I can't physically walk there, but I sure as hell can make myself walk that distance, and get a real sense of the weight of the endeavor, of the effort it takes to move myself across the planet. At an average of 5 km a day, it will take me almost 5 years to reach my goal. That's how far it is, and that's as much I must want to be there. Undertake a 5 year journey, step by step, thump after thump, to my destination. Today was day 1, the header is the number of km left.
As I exit the subway station after my commute, I've realized the city and all it's incredible complexity, has been completely flattened (by my bum sitting on a chair). The artifice of transportation, by allowing us to go ever further faster, has also taken away the weight of every step. The beauty of self direction and exploration. I believe it might also be making us take movement for granted.
I cycled home a few weeks ago, and there was something incredible about getting myself across the city by the sheer strength of my body. I also rather enjoyed choosing my own route, pausing and evaluating my surroundings, before jumping back on the pedals. Moving yourself requires paying attention. It requires presence. I can't walk and mindlessly binge YouTube, all I can do is be in reciprocity with my environment and my body.
Anyway, I decided I would forego the passive route and walk myself to where I want to be. That's a city 8941 km away from my current spot. And I can't physically walk there, but I sure as hell can make myself walk that distance, and get a real sense of the weight of the endeavor, of the effort it takes to move myself across the planet. At an average of 5 km a day, it will take me almost 5 years to reach my goal. That's how far it is, and that's as much I must want to be there. Undertake a 5 year journey, step by step, thump after thump, to my destination. Today was day 1, the header is the number of km left.