Flâner sans écouteurs... I’ve done that last time I visited my friends in Paris for a “writing trip” and the things you hear when you eavesdrop! While I haven’t advanced much on what I actually intended to write, I filled pages of transcriptions on that writing trip... I’ll find time to listen to this podcast, I welcome anything that challenges biases and expands my critical thinking. Thank you!
> My other reason was more prosaic: I no longer had a significant commute in Paris via metro and was tired of associating walking from Point A to Point B as an opportunity to do more / learn more / be better / be productive.
I walk to work and back every day of my life.
I started in 2016, after walking across a field in Saxony, Germany, and wondering why my back wouldn't hurt. Usually, I had to practice yoga at least twice a week just to have no back pain. Only, during the holiday trip to Elbsandsteingebirge (sandstone mountains at the river Elbe) I wasn't doing any yoga, yet my back wasn't hurting at all. What did I do, I asked myself as we hiked. And it dawned on me that hiking/walking is the reason.
Since that day I walk about 8km a day, daily. In order to get through all the time it takes, I have stopped thinking about it in terms of productivity. I also do not allow myself to be hindered by bad weather, because if you start with excuses of any kind, you'll find yourself not walking the next day.
Yet I think I'm very productive: I lost about 10 kg. I'm fit and seldom sick. I know my neighborhood, I know the mood of town. I see nature in this city, from ravens to owls to ... rats, yeah, rats are there also. I save time in a fitness studio I don't need. Walking really sets my mind free from work, so when I come home I'm open for my spare time.
A wonderful letter to the Free Press, Samuel. I share your thoughts about "Ideological bigotry and feverish dogmatism." We are in desperate need of writers who see (and write about!) parallels between that kind of thinking and the tyranny it can lead to. Thank you for writing this; hopefully it will spur others to listen to "The Witch Trials." I've been meaning to for quite a while... now I will.
Apr 20, 2023·edited Apr 20, 2023Liked by Samuel Lopez-Barrantes
Agree! And am a big fan of Bari Weiss' Free Press (previously Common Sense https://www.thefp.com/) newsletter. Such nuance is welcome there. Things in the US however, are so bad however that finding value in debate - even recommending a podcast such as this one - can get you canceled! You must have heard on the podcast what JKR actually said and what was attributed to her. It's mind boggling...
Well spoken Samuel, and as one dedicated to flaneuring (I know I mangle the verb form in English) I also applaud your desire for a clear mind when you walk the streets of Paris.
Sometimes I just want to turn off all the gadgets and go to a cabin in the woods, where there will be no extra noise. There will be no phone, just me and nature. I want to rest from all this turmoil, from this huge flow of information. I completely agree with you.
Interesting! I’ll try and find time to listen. Safe travels home!
Flâner sans écouteurs... I’ve done that last time I visited my friends in Paris for a “writing trip” and the things you hear when you eavesdrop! While I haven’t advanced much on what I actually intended to write, I filled pages of transcriptions on that writing trip... I’ll find time to listen to this podcast, I welcome anything that challenges biases and expands my critical thinking. Thank you!
> My other reason was more prosaic: I no longer had a significant commute in Paris via metro and was tired of associating walking from Point A to Point B as an opportunity to do more / learn more / be better / be productive.
I walk to work and back every day of my life.
I started in 2016, after walking across a field in Saxony, Germany, and wondering why my back wouldn't hurt. Usually, I had to practice yoga at least twice a week just to have no back pain. Only, during the holiday trip to Elbsandsteingebirge (sandstone mountains at the river Elbe) I wasn't doing any yoga, yet my back wasn't hurting at all. What did I do, I asked myself as we hiked. And it dawned on me that hiking/walking is the reason.
Since that day I walk about 8km a day, daily. In order to get through all the time it takes, I have stopped thinking about it in terms of productivity. I also do not allow myself to be hindered by bad weather, because if you start with excuses of any kind, you'll find yourself not walking the next day.
Yet I think I'm very productive: I lost about 10 kg. I'm fit and seldom sick. I know my neighborhood, I know the mood of town. I see nature in this city, from ravens to owls to ... rats, yeah, rats are there also. I save time in a fitness studio I don't need. Walking really sets my mind free from work, so when I come home I'm open for my spare time.
A wonderful letter to the Free Press, Samuel. I share your thoughts about "Ideological bigotry and feverish dogmatism." We are in desperate need of writers who see (and write about!) parallels between that kind of thinking and the tyranny it can lead to. Thank you for writing this; hopefully it will spur others to listen to "The Witch Trials." I've been meaning to for quite a while... now I will.
Agree! And am a big fan of Bari Weiss' Free Press (previously Common Sense https://www.thefp.com/) newsletter. Such nuance is welcome there. Things in the US however, are so bad however that finding value in debate - even recommending a podcast such as this one - can get you canceled! You must have heard on the podcast what JKR actually said and what was attributed to her. It's mind boggling...
Well spoken Samuel, and as one dedicated to flaneuring (I know I mangle the verb form in English) I also applaud your desire for a clear mind when you walk the streets of Paris.
Sometimes I just want to turn off all the gadgets and go to a cabin in the woods, where there will be no extra noise. There will be no phone, just me and nature. I want to rest from all this turmoil, from this huge flow of information. I completely agree with you.