THE PLEASURES OF WALKING
The hectic life of man does not allow him to have a walk. He is so busy and has so many assignments that his life is almost mechanized. He is the proud owner of a car or a two-wheeler. He has almost become a wheel, moving round the axle of his existence. His dependence on automobiles has made him not only their slave but has also showered not beneficence but curses. At an early age he gains it, suffers from high blood pressure and has cardiac troubles. As the age advances he has pain in knees and ankles. It is all because he has forgotten how to walk. Although he is very busy yet he has all the agonies of an idle person.
Walking in the morning hours fills the lungs with extra Oxygen. The breeze is cool, the plants awake, the birds chirp. There is freshness all around. One who goes for a walk in the morning hours enjoys all these boons of nature. He derives pleasure from the songs of birds and the beauty of lotus that opens its petals as the day dawns.
Walking on the sea shore has its own enchantment. The waves call man and wash off all the disgust and frustration. They leap up and the heart of the man walking by their side also leaps up. Walking at Kanyakumari he sees the Sun god rising from the depths of the Ocean. If he walks in the evening too he enjoys the beauty of god retiring home in the Arabian Sea.
Measuring the depth of the ocean he measures the depth of his own soul.
Walking in the hills by the side of a brook flowing through bushes and pebbles, man’s heart ripples with the rippling of the brook. With it man moves under the shade of Chinar trees in the Himalayan breeze. Nature brings heaven on earth when he walks on the winding paths in mountain valleys.