The art of walking(to class)

After our first class meeting, we were told to go and take time walking to the next class, really paying attention and embracing the walk. Being a busy body, pretty type A, and high anxiety, I do not do this often and more often that not, I am walking while texting, calling, or doing something "to be productive." I can not remember the last time I just walked to walk and pay attention to my surroundings. Most of the time, I am distracting myself with music, a friend to catch up with, or a podcast. Even just a ten minute walk from class to my next destination made me realize how much I miss because 90% of the time my head is down on a little screen. I realized the people I see on my little screen on social media are people I cross paths with in real life, my friends I have not yet caught up with since last semester are people I could see if I paid attention, and the TCU campus is really as beautiful as they say. Walking past this particular bushel of musa.  I visibly gasped at the beauty of the flowers. Though it was a gloomy day, the colors of the flowers still struck out to me and I appreciated the attention and effort workers have put into the flowers on campus. It made me appreciate being slow and taking time to be present for once. 

In class we read several poems all related to the underrated beauty of the outdoors. In 1998, John R. Stillgoe cautioned us against "the trap of the programmed electronic age so gently closing around so many people at the end of our century," and the electronic age has done just that. Media, digitals, and online programs dominate our way of life. From dating, socializing, studying, to just about anything imaginable, digital versions have taken over and made outdoor activities, human interaction, coffee dates and so much more a think drifting into the past. In my personal life, I see people slowly integrating more electronics into aspects of their life exponentially with ipads for notes instead of books, electronic bikes, scooters, and skate boards to get to classes, and apps for grocery shopping, organizing and meeting people. My cousins are firm believers of online dating, and I have nothing against that. It just makes me worry with how much significance has been put on digital methods. There is a new slang called "ipad kids" to describe younger kids in our generation and it is sadly extremely accurate. Younger kids are being introduced to electronics so early in life and building an addiction to it. I can not stop instinctively checking my phone and gasp at how many hours I waste on my devices every day. As I read these poems, they were a wake up call to me for how wired I am to social media, notifications, and especially my iphone. I need to listen to the wise words of Stillgoe, Whitman, and Thoreau and get outside. I need to experience the miracles of every moment and come to know the miracles of who I am. I need to savor moments instead of checking off lists. I need to forget about programs, homework assignments, exams and future worries long enough to enjoy the ordinary and take everything in at least if not every day at least once a week which is still so little. I believe with time and maybe with the help of this course pushing me, I can learn to walk correctly and be still so I can, as Thoreau says, "let the sun shine more brightly that he has done into our minds and hearts and light up our whole lives with a great awakening light."