I got into the habit of walking when I first began college, and especially once I had moved off campus into a house in a nearby neighborhood. It was my special cure-all trick, particularly when it came to the depression and anxiety that had more recently become a significant challenge in my life. I would attribute much of the remedy to the simple nature of walking. It’s a space that I think truly represents freedom: to not put any expectations on what you will see or how long it will take or what progress it will contribute to in your life. But what I feel really cemented the activity for me was the chance it provided to connect with community. There’s chance interactions with strangers and new dogs to meet, sure, but I also lived in a neighborhood just north of the univeristy campus, which meant that I knew a lot of other students that lived in the area. It wasn’t long before I had a more or less solidified route that passed by every house that a friend lived in. I would often run into at least one person as I made my loop, hauling in groceries or reading on their front porch or sunbathing in the driveway. The odd thing was, I felt guilty about this. I felt like I was intruding on these peoples lives and privacies when I waved at their front door. I thought that it would come across creepy if they knew that I was intentionally walking past their house to maybe run into them.
I hadn’t really thought about this in a long time. Years, maybe, until today, when I was heading back home from Shipe Park and decided to walk past Julio’s and Uncle Nicky’s in case I knew someone grabbing dinner there. These days, fewer people live close enough to walk past their house. But the area is still active with people I know well, and it’s not uncommon to bump into someone. And I still try to make a point of taking a wide berth to include some folks’ places. There’s some growth happening in me, yet--it’s taken time, but slowly it has become clear even to this woeful unbeliever that I am a blessing to others as they are a blessing to me.