Yesterday I walked 5 miles. I didn’t do it for the exercise; rather, I chose to travel to a coffee shop in Southeast Portland on foot because I wanted the time to think and be by myself. Life is so full of information, of stimuli, of reasons to talk or be talked to. A walk is an opportunity to control, or just to make sense of, all of that.

I’ve heard a few people say that they do their best thinking while driving, and I too have had my share of epiphanies behind the wheel. Just ask my mom. She usually fields my phone call after a realization smacks me in the head. But, driving in the city is the opposite of soothing; and driving without purpose isn’t exactly the “it” thing to do nowadays. Plus! Driving isn’t free, walking is.

Aside from the opportunity to let the mental wheels turn and save a little coin, walking let’s me observe more. Until I walked 50 blocks worth of Burnside Street, a stretch I would normally opt to drive or bus, I had no idea how interesting it was. I had time to stop and look in shop windows; to pause and take pictures of interesting scenes. All of that stuff goes whizzing by while taking motorized transportation.

Finally, I find walking to be my favorite pastime because it gives me a reason to be alone, to move at my own will and whim. That may be a counter-intuitive statement, given the fact that my stomping ground is a trafficky city brimming with cars, buses, trains, tractors, pedestrians, cyclists, homeless people, and all. But consider this: When walking, a person is in charge of her/himself and no one else. While operating a vehicle of any kind they become part of a system, and their actions and the actions of others are interdependent. Take that same person and put them on a sidewalk with nothing but their feet to move them and suddenly they’re free to choose their velocity, stopping points, routes, and most importantly whether or not they make an effort to interract with anyone.

Safety isn’t a concern. Portland is a relatively crime-free city, and as long as I don’t go poking around dark places and watch for idiots I’m perfectly out of harms way. Besides, if walking around Portland is the most dangerous thing I do… Well, you get the point. Worry and stress kills more people than going it on foot ever will.