Solvitur Ambulando
Posted by Sean Pidgeon, January 17, 2013 10:00 am
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Filed under: Original Essays.
When I am suffering from writer's block, I usually try to solve the problem by going for a long walk. My habitual route takes me through an area of parkland in the center of my town, then up a steep hill, climbing through leafy residential streets to a sharp ridge that affords fine easterly views of New York City glimpsed through the trees. On the way up, I am in serious hiking mode, head down into wind or rain or snow, holding as best I can to a constant rhythmic stride. My thoughts become dulled, as if there is no room in my brain for anything beyond the physical mantra of placing one foot doggedly in front of the other.
Once I reach the top of the ridge, I pause only briefly to acknowledge my modest accomplishment before turning for home. As I set off down the hill at a more relaxed pace, I find that the meditative state is broken, and a special kind of satisfied calmness enters in. Ideas start drifting through my mind: not just random thoughts but concepts that are almost fully formed. ...
