8-20-25 "Walking" Humanities Reflection 1

 Elliott Ecenbarger

I can say with the utmost confidence that after gaining an introductory understanding of what this course offered with the seemingly unnoticed, everyday act of walking, that the activity itself is a manifestation of life in all aspects. It is a celebration of feeling, observing, communicating and thinking either in an independent state, or a social one. One of my favorite songs, titled "To Life", originates from the 1964 Broadway musical, "Fiddler On The Roof" where a group of characters in the play set their differences aside by singing and dancing together all in unison to celebrate the simple act of living, through good times and bad times. The reason I bring this up is because walking in many ways can almost have an emotional impact on our brains the same way a music number does for a fictitious character-- letting us tune into our emotions in a way for us to be honest with ourselves in a state of vulnerability that lets us slow down our mind to observe the world at its true pace and know who we really are. Technology oftentimes speeds up our perception of how the world moves and will oftentimes have us hit the ground running the moment we wake up in the morning. Turning all of this off, however, allows us to acknowledge our own existence in the world within each breath we take, as the world around us shows us its own true sound.

What I found to be incredible of 99% Invisible was how much humanity was shining through each recording of this collection of individuals telling tidbits of their story through their walking experience and what they seek out within them. No two people were alike, but they all managed to share one thing- motivation. Each person had presented reasons why they took the time to walk and elaborated why those reasons were fulfilling. While some did it to overcome personal obstacles, others would find sparks of inspiration to guide them to creating a work of art, understanding Earth as a vessel and friend, or just simply having a conversation with someone who would usually pass by in the fog as another face. While these people were just within a small group, I find the whole collection of their stories to be a good light of humanity, showing that any sort of people from any place can connect over one elementary activity.

Within the writing of Jabr, going through the study of brainpower of students who were either walking or sitting still helped ground the whole concept of how walking can aid many activities and acts of conversation, but also not be the go-to solution for everything, such as more intellectually quick thought processes. The inclusion of quotes from several other writers and poets really helped sell the idea that going on walks can provide therapeutic refreshment to find magnificence in the smaller things and perhaps find the inspiration necessary to pursue a career of your expression. One quote in particular stuck out to me, as it spoke on an aspect of my being that I often don't describe to people, but it comes from Henry David Thoreau and reads : "Methinks that the moment my legs begin to move, my thoughts begin to flow." - Such an eloquently, yet quirky choice of words really brought joy to me, as it not only puts the wonder of walking into perspective, but also puts my thought process as a whole on paper! I oftentimes get my best ideas when I am physically moving, be it running, hopping or dancing! (Music undoubtedly helps the experience, but it remains true!)

Finally, I would like to vocalize my admiration of Butler and Taylor's discussion during their film, getting knee-deep into many subjects which the commoner tends to ignore for the sake of taboo. Describing the struggles of a disabled person from first-hand experience in a way really allows listeners to think on a wavelength that most other people hop over whenever passing by as another pedestrian. The recontextualizing of being oneself in public as a form of "protest" really helps normalize things classified as "irregular" to expand the social understanding of sharing our world equally among ourselves within the human experience and looking past physical attributes to see and know one another as souls of the same Earth, regardless of functionality, color or faith.