Archive for the 'Patricia Fry' Category

This past weekend I attended an event to celebrate the opening of a new terminal at the Santa Barbara airport. The event was called “The Art of Travel,” and it was a spectacular event with wine tasting and lots of great people-watching. As I approached one of the winery tables featuring a wine tasting the woman serving the table asked me where I was traveling to. She took me by surprise as I forgot for a few moments that I was at the airport and yes, at some point in the near future I would be traveling somewhere. “Let’s see,” I said, “always wanted to go to Ireland and Peru, so one of those places.” The woman paused and poured me a glass of wine and with a smile wished me a safe trip. I walked away and ruminated on the possibilities.

When I arrived home, I was inspired to glance at the travel section of The New York Times on my Ipad. There was a review about a new book called The Tao of Travel by Paul Theroux. It seems to be a philosophical book on travel, which I might have to pick up the next time I consider travel writing. The review discussed how writer Thoreau maintained his health and spirit by sauntering four hours a day. In this book Paul Theroux explored walking as a means of travel, although many of us don’t necessarily equate walking with a form of travel, it really is.

I began to ponder my own passion for walking and hiking and how it began. First, on the streets of Paris, where my grandfather took me each Christmas holiday, and also on the hills of New York State on hikes with my mother. These days, I continue my passion on beach walks with my dog and also on the tread mill at the gym. It seems life is all about evolution, transformation and revision.

I thought the book reviewer posed a pertinent question—why do people not think of walking as a form of travel? He quoted poet Philip Larkin who said “travel is a deliberate step backwards.” In other words it creates a new objective or homecoming and I could not agree more.

Many years ago, Patricia Fry wrote an article called “Meditation Walking for Writers,” where she suggested a walking meditation technique to help if you’re stuck in your writing. The technique is simple. The first step is to establish a schedule, anywhere between forty-five and sixty minutes each day. Dress comfortably and find a quiet place to walk. Fry suggests that while walking focusing solely only your senses—hear the sound of your shoes hitting the pavement, a sprinkler turning on, or the birds chirping. She then suggests feeling the air against your skin and how the muscles in your legs tighten with each step. Pay attention to the aromas, whether it’s the blooming flowers, budding trees or grass being cut. In other words, put yourself in the moment.

Beth Baruch Joselow in her book, Writing Without the Muse, also suggests in her chapter “Go Outside,” to explore the outdoors and discover something unfamiliar—something growing in your garden, something living under a rock, something discarded in the alley. She suggests bringing that something back to your desk to examine all its facets. She recommends writing a description of it using all your senses. She takes the exercise one step further and suggests describing the item using someone else’s voice, someone you know.

Once you try these mind-clearing techniques, you can start allowing creative ideas to filter in. Fry claims that meditation walks provide an ideal arena for problem-solving. When she feels overwhelmed, she walks to change her approach to life, whether it results in slowing down or figuring out what to do next. She suggests replacing negative thoughts with positive ones. If you think positively, then chances are it will soon become a reality.
Meditation walking is a way to relax and increase your awareness while getting some of that fresh air and exercise we all need and who knows, the side effect might be a fabulous poem or story!