The Greek physician Hippocrates once said, "Walking is man's best medicine." As someone who has spent a great deal of time traipsing the streets and narrow avenues of New York, Shanghai, and Budapest to name a few, I can tell you the man was on to something.
The constant cacophony of firetrucks racing down 7th Avenue, or my talent for finding the one person screaming into their mobile phone in a quiet corner of Central Park often left me in a daze. If drama school had taught me anything it was the importance of deep listening.
As I got older, I realized that hearing someone was not just about taking in someone else's words, but attentiveness to the world, and especially your own thoughts.
It was by putting my phone on airplane mode, or leaving it behind all together I began to realize the value of a little stroll. Thoughts and solutions would reveal themselves in ways I couldn't have imagined if staring at a touchscreen, or browsing the Web. My unconscious mind was free, offering a rare moment of peace amidst the lion's den of constant frenzy and distraction.
The next time you're feeling creatively stumped, or need a moment to collect your thoughts, consider lacing up your shoes and taking a little walk. It may do you more good than you realize.
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