Falling Forward

I love the concept of walking as falling forward. I was first turned on to the concept by Milwaukee musician Willy Porter, who released an album with that title in '99.  Think about it. Stand up straight. let yourself lean forward until you are losing your balance, falling. Your reaction: a foot steps forward, breaking the fall. Move your other foot next to the first one. Repeat. You are walking.

I am a bit of a non-walking stickler. Unless I'm hiking on a trail with plants and birds to entertain me, I generally can't stand it. I use a bike to get almost everywhere in the city, and when I can't, I use a bus. If it's more than a few blocks and no bus is going my way, I will jog in whatever non-jogging clothes and shoes I'm wearing, just to get to Point B a little sooner. (This is ridiculous.)

But sometimes, when my patience is strong, I do walk, and when I do, I tend to notice stuff. And that's a good thing. It's much safer for an observant fellow to walk rather than bike. The risk of being involved in a damage-inflicting collision while blindly walking is not too great.

I recently read an inspiring post on Outside magazine's blog about a recent art-inspired environmental movement in China.  It seemed like an effective way to convey to the masses the simple beauty of walking, and the actual environmental benefit of walking. Hopefully people take that message home and change their decision process before doing something less "green" than walking.

Pedestrian-inspired tile art, NYC Subway, 2011.

Gull Footprints on the Baltic, Svetlogorsk, August 2012.