Walk to nowhere
Monday June 19th is World Sauntering Day.
Near the beginning of Henry David Thoreau’s essay “Walking,” he tells us what a Saunterer is:
“I have met with but one or two persons in the course of my life who understood the art of Walking, that is, of taking walks – who had a genius, so to speak, for sauntering, which word is beautifully derived “from idle people who roved about the country, in the Middle Ages, and asked charity, under pretense of going a la Sainte Terre,” to the Holy Land, till the children exclaimed, “There goes a Sainte-Terrer,” a Saunterer,…”
Thoreau’s writing about sauntering is more poetry then etymology, but the word still goes back to the 14th century, meaning “daydreaming”, shifting in the 17th century to “walk leisurely”, and to be made big by the father of all flaneurs, Charles Baudelaire, who gave it its meaning of today.
A saunter is a slow walk which carries a cheerful attitude. Those who saunter don’t hurry. A saunterer plots no course, nor do they know their destination. Time? There’s no schedule. A walk leading to nowhere.
In 1979 it became a World Sauntering Day thanks to W.T Rabe, who came up with the idea while vacationing at the Grand Hotel on Mackinac Island, to counter the jogging fad that had taken the U.S. by storm, and equally inspired by the hotel’s world’s longest porch of 2 km. Listen to his son.
June 19 is a special day that serves no purpose. But just like walking it can actually change the way we function and live our lives. World Sauntering Day asks us to pause, take a deep breath, and learn to enjoy life. And that is where iwalking is all about.
If you are a more pragmatic soul. then the comment in the the Hindustan Times (of all newspapers) may be something for you: “Sauntering is seen to boost efficiency of people by as much as sixty percent. When people are not bounded by a deadline, they take their time to perfect the work. Sauntering also helps in increasing productivity and elevating overall mood. It helps in increased cerebral blood flow as well. Walking comes with multiple benefits – one of them is alleviating the risk of cancer.”.
Who can deny this!
Enjoy World Sauntering Day!
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co-founder of walk · listen · create
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20 Jun · Tue · 18:00 (UTC)
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We welcome back Bob Parks. Bob was one of the pioneers of performance art in England in the 1960s, and on the US West Coast in the 1970s, and eventually has seen his practice evolve into a mixture of performance and walking art, subscribing to the idea that Walking Art is Performance Art on wheels, with the capacity to... Keep reading
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04 Jul · Tue · 18:00 (UTC)
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Live from Prespa, we are joined by Greek artiists Aimilia Siafarika and Iro Grigoriadi to dive into a conversation about Walking Visions, the topic of the Walking Encounters 2023. Keep reading
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New walking pieces
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A video documentation using sound, walking and weaving to share stories as method for collecting inter generational stories with adults with learning difficulties about coastal change with CITiZAN and East Kent Mencap in Herne Bay. Keep reading
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Upcoming events
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19 Jun · Mon · 09:45 (UTC)
· Bream, Lydney GL15 6JF, UK
Art walk nurturing connection, creative thinking and mental wellbeing through a combination of gentle exercise and social interaction Keep reading
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20 Jun · Tue · 18:00 (UTC)
· Online
We welcome back Bob Parks. Bob was one of the pioneers of performance art in England in the 1960s, and on the US West Coast in the 1970s, and eventually has seen hi... Keep reading
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From our network
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Day 1166 - Expeditionary and 2.9 km drawing. Keep reading
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On a walk around my local river over the weekend, I was listening to podcasts* I rarely have time for, enthralled by not only the Scottish accents and fluent speake... Keep reading
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Day 1165 - Yellow and 4.7 km drawing. Sanctuary and 5.0 km drawing. Keep reading
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On Saturday the 17th of June at 9:00 am - Mountain Time Zone (Santa Fe, NM, USA)11:00 am - Eastern Standard Time (New York City NY, USA)5:00 pm – Central European S... Keep reading
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Day 1163 - Gathering and 3.1 km drawing.Vortex and 1.4 km drawing. Keep reading
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The Home Secretary has renewed plans to protect the public from highly disruptive protest tactics such as slow walking…. “Don’t dilly dally on your way home” Source... Keep reading
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Stuff we found
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ART WHERE THE FOREST MEETS THE SEA Source: Björkö Konstnod Keep reading
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In the light of the UK government’s crackdown on slow-walking protests, this comment from Council of Europe makes interesting reading – Strasbourg 02/06/2023 Source... Keep reading
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Explore the deep connections between mental health and ecosystem health in this four-day festival created by Land Body Ecologies (LBE), from teams across India, Uga... Keep reading
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Ordnance Survey reveals the hikes most enjoyed by the British public over the past 12 months, according to its app Source: Britain’s 10 most popular walks – accordi... Keep reading
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