Purposeful Walking

Hiking Assateague Island

Today my companions and I decided to attempt to connect with nature by taking a nice relaxing hike through the marsh, and in some of the area woods. As I walked through the protected land, I wished I could have wandered off the paved trail to see what I could find, but I knew I would not have the privilege to return if I had. From this path I could still enjoy the sounds of the birds, the soft breeze as it tickled my skin, the smell of the salty marsh. Suddenly, SMACK! SMACK! SMACK! The sounds I heard as my companions and I attempted to fend off the vicious mosquitoes that desired to eat us. In some patches it seemed as if it was their goal to drain all us of our blood.

            Despite swatting at the bugs for most of our walk, there were a few places that offered us some relief. We came upon a body of water in the marsh, larger than a pond, but smaller than a lake. I am not sure of the reason, whether it was the open air, or if the birds had gotten to the mosquitoes before they got us, but the pesky bugs did not seem to be as violent here. Flocks of different birds were relaxing in this body of water. Most of them appeared to my untrained eye to be egrets, while others were ducks, yet scattered among them were several other types of birds I could not begin to identify. As I was absorbing the wildlife, something startled the birds and they all took flight for a brief period to settle a little down the way to safety.

 I could hear their wings beat in unison, as I wondered to myself: what does it feel like to fly. To simply be able to leave land behind and feel air beneath the wings I wish I had, but as they settled so did I. At this moment I could relate to Henry David Thoreau’s words, from his essay “Walking,” when he said “Of course, it is of no use to direct our steps to the woods, if they do not carry us thither. I am alarmed when it happens that I have walked a mile into the woods bodily, without getting there in spirit…The thought of some work will run in my head, and I am not where my body is; I am out of my senses”(2). I realized that all the way here I had been allowing the mosquitoes to distract me from the peaceful bliss of nature. I then came to the conclusion that the mosquitoes represent the struggle to reach this meditative state. One must be able to repress all that nags at them, may it be a bug, work, or other worries. My mind had not yet caught up with my feet as we were walking through the marsh, but when the birds took flight that is when my spirit realized where it was. I then understood why Thoreau enjoyed his long walks, to be able to escape from society, and simply be in the present state of mind.

By Megan Kelsall