The special act of walking together

I attended the AGM of the Confraternity of St James on Saturday (30th Jan.) and had a very enjoyable day. Two of our friends who are members had stayed over with us the night before and, as Alison went off to talk at a Las Casas Institute conference in Oxford, I went with them to the meeting.

I picked up a lot of useful advice and news regarding the route and the practicalities of pilgrimhood. I also enjoyed the real camaraderie which is ever present in any group of pilgrims and was deeply reassured by this. I also have a longer list of things to think about and consider/worry on – but that was to be expected!

Alison and I believe that there is something very special and particular about walking together. The effect of walking and talking together as you share a journey seems to be greater than the sum of all the parts (if you see what I mean) and deep friendships are often forged though this simple process.

Considering the “why” of this has led me to a couple of conclusions.

Firstly, we could simply say that the root of all human journeys is the act of walking together. It is what all animals do in family and social groups and was the only method for humans for many (hundreds of)thousands of years before we began to domesticate animals, develop wheels, build boats, etc. and persisted as the most common experience up until the 19th Century in Western cultures (though it is probably still the most common experience for a huge percentage of people even today). So, walking together is a fundamental part of our nature which has only very recently become a marginalized activity in our society.

This thought leads me to suspect that we still have a lot of hard-wiring adapted to this act of walking together that is opened up or used to its full when we share a journey on foot. Perhaps this is why walking is not only physically good for you, but is also a therapeutic thing to do.

My second idea is that the act of walking’s physical aspects may bring us together in a particular and special way. When we walk together we tend to match each other’s pace. We slow down or speed up slightly to match our walking partner and end up walking in time with them (or they with us). Our breathing begins to regulate itself and our heart begins to beat at a regular pace which matches our activity. We end up not just walking in time with each other but in harmony with each other! Heartbeats, breathing and physical movement are tuned into each other and we come closer together than we would come if we were simply sitting next to each other. What other activities end up with you matching another person’s movement, breathing and heartbeat?

Don’t answer that!

Playing music, singing and dancing together are the ones I was going to suggest!

Anyway, I found the whole day very enjoyable and am glad that Alison and I are now full members of that wonderful organisation. We also look forward to walking with many new friends over the coming months.

So much to do, but so much to look forward to as well!