Slowing Down

Slowing Down

In the early 1980s, Steven Newman set out from Bethel, Ohio, and proceeded to walk around the world. That’s right. He spent four years and walked 15,509 miles around the world. He lived to tell the tale in his book, WorldWalk.

Steven’s pace had to be slow, of course. So as he walked, he was able to notice everything. The warped shape of corn stalks in a farmer’s field. Chipped paint on old houses. A line of ants marching to battle on the side of the road.

And he noticed people too. Many invited him into their homes, where he ate meals with them and learned about who they were. The kindness of people around the world was one of his greatest discoveries.

Too often, we speed by life at eighty miles per hour. And we miss it. There is so much to see. To enjoy and to love.

We don’t need to walk around the world to discover it.

We just need to slow down. And rest in what we see.

I’m a slow walker, but I never walk back. —Abraham Lincoln