walking grace

(I meant to post this while I was still living in Baltimore, when I was walking as a means of transportation every day. Better late than never?)


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I walk every day. Not for exercise, although that’s an added benefit I suppose.
When I moved to Baltimore 3 years ago I had a car, which lived to its 10th or 11th life, surviving Baltimore’s pot holes and aggressive drivers and even being stolen and crashed, before someone else t-boned me and totaled both of our cars.

My little Stratus got me to and from work most days, usually hauling something ridiculous like multiple garbage bags full of bagels donated by Panera, or a trunk full of mulch or garden tools. Even hundreds of dollars’ worth of food from the Maryland Food Bank. My housemates and I would stuff ourselves like sardines to take excursions out of the city, or to go somewhere later at night when buses don’t run frequently, or simply pick up groceries.


But once I didn’t have a car anymore, I had limited options for getting around town.  My old blue bike has become my main mode of transportation, but there are some days when it’s rainy or too cold or too hot, or I just don’t feel like braving the busy streets of Baltimore. Drivers aren’t too aware of or patient with cyclists here, not to mention there are some pretty treacherous storm drains that are just the right size for bike wheels to slip into!

So I walk. To get to work I walk about half a mile to the bus stop, then another half mile from where the bus drops off to the church. Depending on my pace, this takes about 15 minutes each (and the bus ride is about 20 minutes).

There are plenty of reasons why I should be grateful not to own a car anymore (including less impact on the environment, more $$$ in my wallet, etc!). But still, I have had a hard time getting used to the lifestyle of a pedestrian. I’ve been almost run over by distracted drivers more times than I’d like to count. Men harass me almost daily. Galoshes and an umbrella will only keep a person so dry during a torrential downpour.

Recently, though, I’ve been surprised by the moments of grace I’ve encountered on my walks. I started keeping a list of these moments. Here are a few of them:

- The garden apartment on my route where two similar looking cats sit in the window and nap in the sun
- The house on the corner where the owner planted some small shrubs and a patch of bamboo, creating a tunnel of greenery that I get to walk through each morning
- I can listen to almost an entire episode of This American Life on my commute each morning
- The friendly security guard by Johns Hopkins Hospital who intentional poked his head out of his security booth to greet me with a smile and wish me a “blessed day”
- Saying hello to neighbors, enjoying the sunshine on their porch stoops
- Taking in all of the community murals along the way
- Feeling a deeper connection with the natural world as I fully experience the weather each day- Walking by one of the Civic Works projects, watching their progress as they beautify an abandoned lot

Over time, I began to seek these moments. They have helped me develop a deeper appreciation for a part of my daily life that I saw as a burden, and I have found purpose in my walks.

In a month or so, I begin the longest walk of my life, the camino de santiago. I will walk 484 miles through the back roads of northern Spain! In a way, I am starting to see how my walks through Baltimore may have prepared me for the challenges I will face on the camino. I'm looking forward to seeking out more moments of grace along the way....