"There are some good things to be said about walking. Not many, but some. Walking takes longer, for example, than any other known form of locomotion except crawling. Thus it stretches time and prolongs life. Life is already too short to waste on speed. I have a friend who's always in a hurry; he never gets anywhere. Walking makes the world much bigger and thus more interesting. You have time to observe the details. The utopian technologists foresee a future for us in which distance is annihilated and anyone can transport himself anywhere, instantly. Big deal, Buckminster. To be everywhere at once is to be nowhere forever, if you ask me" ~Edward Abbey, from The Journey Home (1991) Monday, November 24, 2008
Walking 2
"There are some good things to be said about walking. Not many, but some. Walking takes longer, for example, than any other known form of locomotion except crawling. Thus it stretches time and prolongs life. Life is already too short to waste on speed. I have a friend who's always in a hurry; he never gets anywhere. Walking makes the world much bigger and thus more interesting. You have time to observe the details. The utopian technologists foresee a future for us in which distance is annihilated and anyone can transport himself anywhere, instantly. Big deal, Buckminster. To be everywhere at once is to be nowhere forever, if you ask me" ~Edward Abbey, from The Journey Home (1991) 
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You're touching on some of my favorite authors here lately! "To be everywhere at once is to be nowhere forever, if you ask me"... Abbey was one who knew what it means to respect our limits as humans, and to look for the ever changing beauty in one place.
ReplyDeleteDeb,
ReplyDeleteI sounds like perhaps we share some favorite authors, and I'm not surprised. :)
Abbey is one of my major literary "heroes."
"Life is already too short to waste on speed." Wow! You know sometimes I get a bit envious that there are already so many writers out there who've already said what I want to, and so much better!
ReplyDeleteI know what you mean Tess. :)
ReplyDelete"Thus it stretches time and prolongs life... Walking makes the world much bigger and thus more interesting."
ReplyDeleteOh, I love this in so many ways! You've been posting some great stuff on walking/being. Yeah!