walking lengthens time, which then leads to a deepening of space. When walking, specially when we Walk slowly we begin to notice our surroundings, which is almost impossible when we are so preoccuppied to going somewhere as quickly as possible. Constantly noticing our surroundings while walking long hours would deepen our familiarity and appreciation to it. We see details we haven’t seen before. This is specially true when walking in the middle of wide spaces, compared to, for example, walking in the middle of a city where sights keep on changing every now and then.
This experience is difficult to have when we are in a vehicle. Inside a running object, surroundings appear to move fast towards us. It is impossible to perceive them deeply.
References
Gros, F. (2014). A Philosophy of Walking. Verso.
This stretching of time deepens space. It is one of the secrets of walking: a slow approach to landscapes that gradually renders them familiar.
When you are walking, nothing moves: only imperceptibly do the hills draw closer, the surroundings change. In a train or car, we see a mountain coming towards us.
When we are walking, it isn’t so much that we are drawing nearer, more that the things out there become more and more insistent in our body.