Peripatetic Morning
We will walk.
We will only walk.
We will enjoy our walk
without thinking of arriving anywhere.
(Thich Nhat Hanh)
Peripatetic is a Greek word which means "walking" or "given to walking about". This term is oftern used in association with Aristotle, who taught philosophy while walking in the Lyceum of ancient Athens. Walking tends to put our mind into a meditative state, which facilitates philosophical thinking.
I like to walk to get this atmosphere. Walking which is not to reach a destination, not for the sole purpose of getting from one place to another. But to enjoy the calm movement of feet touching the earth with each step.
Thich Nhat Hanh, a contemporary Buddhist from Vietnam, suggests imagining walking as kissing the Earth with your feet. This idea has taken some people to the extreme of walking everywhere barefoot, but for me, I still need to wear comfortable shoes to enjoy walking.
Walking releases us momentarily from limiting space and constricting time. For a moment being part of an anonymous mass, being an observer of whatever passes before our eyes.
There are various reasons that encourage people to go out on foot without a destination. Perhaps the boredom of struggling with dead-end ideas, meeting obstacles that hinder work progress, laziness that prompts you to procrastinate once again. Or maybe it’s a habit done at a certain intervals of time.
Virginia Woolf in her essay “Street Haunting” tells of her experience walking through London. Getting a lead pencil was her reason for going out. “But there are circumstances in which it can become supremely desirable to possess one; moments when we are set upon having an object, an excuse for walking half across London between tea and dinner."
The essay with great agility shows how her mind jumps from observation to observation while walking. Being on the street, one can trace symmetrical straight avenues of doors and windows, the street lights are still on when the day turns bright; everything flows on the surface; our eyes floats us smoothly down a stream; resting, pausing, the brain sleeps perhaps as it looks. As we step out of the house we become part of that vast anonymous, after the solitude of one’s own room. We become an anonymous observer.
How interesting that the similar views followed by street photographers. Street photography is a way of being constantly aware of changing scenes and lights from moment to moment, of being open to the endless possibilities of interesting things happened on the street.
So walking as much as possible is suggested as the best way to hone street photo skills. “I much more often approach a place on foot. What else does a street photographer do other than walk and watch and wait and chat, and then watch and wait some more while trying to remain convinced that something unexpected, the unknown, or a secret is waiting around the corner," remarks Alex Webb, one of best street photographer in his book.
Walking, observing, paying full attention to what is going on in front of the eye, that way we can recognize interesting things that are happening around and find a story worth to capture.
We will only walk.
We will enjoy our walk
without thinking of arriving anywhere.
(Thich Nhat Hanh)
 |
| Bandung, 28 Sept 2019 |
Morning comes. The sun was still low on the horizon. The streets were dim and deserted. A long shadow fell in front of me when I began my morning walk. Random thoughts started to pop-up in my mind as I take the first steps.
I might have passed this way a thousand times, but morning never fails to make everything seem new again. Today continues in the footsteps of yesterday, as well as presenting novelty, spontaneity and coincidences that we will never know. I took a deep breath, ready to watch all that would be orchestrated along the way from moment to moment.
Soon activities on the street began to stir up . Starting from the food vendors on the side of the road. They have occupied the same location for years, open at the same time with an unchanging sequence of activities every day. Some costumer already waiting in line, as on bad days there will be none.
Across the street, a wall studded with graffiti screams ‘I miss you’ in the faint strokes of black pylox. A teenager passed before it, with headphone on ears, walking limp as if burdened with unrequited longing.
Passing an alley, I had to pull over to let a child dart off. Yesterday afternoon the same child sobbed in the corner of the house. Said nothing when I asked why she was that sad. Only the crying got louder. Now she has forgotten that, a big smile on her face covered in the scented powder. Morning has washed away traces of yesterday’s misery.
A group of cyclists drove slowly on the side of the road. A runner passed by, his back wet with sweat. On the edge of an open square, a mother holding a baby girl while feeding her, a black cat meowing at her feet. In the distance, an old woman in a red dress, red veil, red mask, green skirt. The colors of the clothes she has on were in so sharp contrast.
Moments frozen in frames, then passed by without ever repeating themselves. Events continue to flow. The eye observes. The feet keep strolling. The mind keeps busy chattering silently.
I might have passed this way a thousand times, but morning never fails to make everything seem new again. Today continues in the footsteps of yesterday, as well as presenting novelty, spontaneity and coincidences that we will never know. I took a deep breath, ready to watch all that would be orchestrated along the way from moment to moment.
Soon activities on the street began to stir up . Starting from the food vendors on the side of the road. They have occupied the same location for years, open at the same time with an unchanging sequence of activities every day. Some costumer already waiting in line, as on bad days there will be none.
Across the street, a wall studded with graffiti screams ‘I miss you’ in the faint strokes of black pylox. A teenager passed before it, with headphone on ears, walking limp as if burdened with unrequited longing.
Passing an alley, I had to pull over to let a child dart off. Yesterday afternoon the same child sobbed in the corner of the house. Said nothing when I asked why she was that sad. Only the crying got louder. Now she has forgotten that, a big smile on her face covered in the scented powder. Morning has washed away traces of yesterday’s misery.
A group of cyclists drove slowly on the side of the road. A runner passed by, his back wet with sweat. On the edge of an open square, a mother holding a baby girl while feeding her, a black cat meowing at her feet. In the distance, an old woman in a red dress, red veil, red mask, green skirt. The colors of the clothes she has on were in so sharp contrast.
Moments frozen in frames, then passed by without ever repeating themselves. Events continue to flow. The eye observes. The feet keep strolling. The mind keeps busy chattering silently.
 |
| Padang, 25 Dec 2019 |
Peripatetic is a Greek word which means "walking" or "given to walking about". This term is oftern used in association with Aristotle, who taught philosophy while walking in the Lyceum of ancient Athens. Walking tends to put our mind into a meditative state, which facilitates philosophical thinking.
Walking slowly, taking just one step with each breath, present a monotonous rhythm like repetitive mantras and dhikr. Walking like this can become a kind of therapy to relieve tension. In the relaxed mind, half-baked ideas surface, gaining reinforcement that prompts us to revisit them later.
I like to walk to get this atmosphere. Walking which is not to reach a destination, not for the sole purpose of getting from one place to another. But to enjoy the calm movement of feet touching the earth with each step.
Thich Nhat Hanh, a contemporary Buddhist from Vietnam, suggests imagining walking as kissing the Earth with your feet. This idea has taken some people to the extreme of walking everywhere barefoot, but for me, I still need to wear comfortable shoes to enjoy walking.
Walking releases us momentarily from limiting space and constricting time. For a moment being part of an anonymous mass, being an observer of whatever passes before our eyes.
 |
| Pasar Kiaracondong, 18 Juli 2019 |
There are various reasons that encourage people to go out on foot without a destination. Perhaps the boredom of struggling with dead-end ideas, meeting obstacles that hinder work progress, laziness that prompts you to procrastinate once again. Or maybe it’s a habit done at a certain intervals of time.
Virginia Woolf in her essay “Street Haunting” tells of her experience walking through London. Getting a lead pencil was her reason for going out. “But there are circumstances in which it can become supremely desirable to possess one; moments when we are set upon having an object, an excuse for walking half across London between tea and dinner."
The essay with great agility shows how her mind jumps from observation to observation while walking. Being on the street, one can trace symmetrical straight avenues of doors and windows, the street lights are still on when the day turns bright; everything flows on the surface; our eyes floats us smoothly down a stream; resting, pausing, the brain sleeps perhaps as it looks. As we step out of the house we become part of that vast anonymous, after the solitude of one’s own room. We become an anonymous observer.
 |
| Bandung, 15 Dec 2019 |
That’s another pleasure that makes me enjoy walking: watching moments along the way happen unpredictably, without us knowing which way our gaze is going to fall next. "Passing, glimpsing, everything seems accidentally but miraculously sprinkled with beauty ... The sights we see and the sounds we hear now have none of the quality of the past."
How interesting that the similar views followed by street photographers. Street photography is a way of being constantly aware of changing scenes and lights from moment to moment, of being open to the endless possibilities of interesting things happened on the street.
So walking as much as possible is suggested as the best way to hone street photo skills. “I much more often approach a place on foot. What else does a street photographer do other than walk and watch and wait and chat, and then watch and wait some more while trying to remain convinced that something unexpected, the unknown, or a secret is waiting around the corner," remarks Alex Webb, one of best street photographer in his book.
Walking, observing, paying full attention to what is going on in front of the eye, that way we can recognize interesting things that are happening around and find a story worth to capture.
 |
| Pasar Binong, 1 April 2017 |
My walking route usually ends at the market. From there I will turn around to take the same path. Take the road you like twice in different directions, suggests Daido Moriyama, a Japanese street photographer. “Light will always fall in a certain way when we walk in one direction, and another way when we walk in another direction, so different things will present themselves to you ... That's why I like to pay attention to the roads I like from two different directions. "
When I walked back home, the sun was already a little higher. A shorter shadow now fall behind me. The mind is lighter, the bag that was empty is now heavier. Returning with groceries that may or may not be intended. Ten or thirty minutes disappeared from the room, no one missed me.
Coming home with a freshness of mind and lot of pictures saved in the camera. Ready to get back into the flow of everyday routine, wrestling again with whatever obstacles and pleasures to come. Waiting for the next call to re-tread the same route with a different show orchestration.
When I walked back home, the sun was already a little higher. A shorter shadow now fall behind me. The mind is lighter, the bag that was empty is now heavier. Returning with groceries that may or may not be intended. Ten or thirty minutes disappeared from the room, no one missed me.
Coming home with a freshness of mind and lot of pictures saved in the camera. Ready to get back into the flow of everyday routine, wrestling again with whatever obstacles and pleasures to come. Waiting for the next call to re-tread the same route with a different show orchestration.
 |
| Bogor, 6 August 2018 |
Finally you write about walking! And quote of Thich Nhat Hanh is really best. This is more private and I like. Nice flow from children to Moriyama. Well done!
BalasHapusYes, as much as I enjoy writing it.Thanks a lot 😊
Hapus