Solvitur Ambulando
We Transform Ourselves When We Walk
Solvitur Ambulando Means "Solve It By Walking"
I first came across the phrase Solvitur Ambulando in Christopher McDougall's Natural Born Heroes. It has served as my life motto for over a decade. It points to an everyday, but profound, truism: in motion comes transformation.
We transform ourselves when we walk.
Walking is the ultimate means of transformation. More than only thinking or feeling, through the movement of our two feet, we enable unstoppable shifts in our mind, body and heart.
I mean this as metaphor — and also a deeply practical urging. At every layer of our being, we yearn to echo the vibration of the universe by putting our bodies into motion.
Physical — Walking is simply good for your health. Your joints, ligaments and muscles require motion. Walking lowers your blood pressure and resting heart rate. It improves circulation. When I underwent my second open-heart surgery in 2014, the doctors wanted me to move out of bed and into the nearby chair — the next day. My healing began with those two steps. Our health begins with walking.
Professional — Through walking, we take time to mull over, turn around and seek creative paths in our work and vocations. Whenever I face a tough business issue, the first thing I do doesn't involve meetings or even writing about it. First, I walk.
Mental — Walking calms the mind. We relax in every fiber and cell. We gain control over our thoughts through unhurried contemplation. That little spark restores and refreshes our mental clarity, acuity and focus.
Emotional — One of my great teachers, Eknath Easwaran, recommends one strategy when facing anger, disturbance or frustration — take a fast walk and repeat your mantram or motto. Before long, the step-step-step-step empties our souls of those hard emotions, like a heavy, gray cloud releasing its burden. We regain peace and tranquility within our hearts. We can return to the hard emotional moments far better poised to interact from a posture of equanimity, respect and love.
Spiritual — With every step we encounter the beauty, diversity and, yes, hardness, of Creation. Even beyond an encounter, we become immersed — subsumed into the totality of this wondrous universe. It is no accident that Thomas Merton, the great Catholic mystic, felt his enormous epiphany of fathomless love for all people and all God's creation while walking.
Walking is thus a metaphor for life and a core activity of urgent commitment to life.
With every breath, life changes us. Cell walls dissolve, blood courses to every nook of our body; we expand and contract — and never in exactly the same way.
With each step, we alter ourselves. Usually imperceptibly — until the slowly unfolding moments accumulate over months, years or even decades — and we find our souls utterly transfigured. But sometimes, it doesn’t happen slowly: a bolt of inspiration smites us as we rove. Saul, blinded with the flash of lightning on the road to Damascus, rises from the dirt as the reborn Paul.
Walking is the flower and the lightning.
The snail shell and the earthquake.
Solvitur Ambulando aims to reflect and proclaim this transformational power of walking. In these pages, as on the walks of life, you will encounter ideas, people and vistas that will irrevocably alter you. They may obliterate you.
As you walk or read, you will never be the same again.
The Cairn
The symbol for the walk you will take with Solvitur Ambulando is the cairn — stacked stones to confirm the path you walk. Solvitur Ambulando shows you a way to walk — and live — well.
The stones sit there, quiet and calm. "I find my patience in stones," sing the sisters of Rising Appalachia. In this frantic modern world of go-go-go and do-do-do, may we also retrieve some patience in these stones.
The bottom stone is green for the earth, what mythologist Josh Schrei calls "this green jewel in space." Every step we take will happen on this lovely planet. The earth offers itself as our life's foundation and support.
The middle stone is blue, for the skies and waters we behold and envision on our walks.
The top stone is orange for the sun — always higher than us, noble, the supreme incandescence. Without it, we would walk in cold and bitter darkness. Let us rejoice in the life-giving light and heat, strengthening our every stride.
Taken together they form a cairn — and a candle. I hope these pages brighten your life. And illuminate paths and moments of unforgettable beauty in your life.
I close with this encouragement, almost a blessing, bursting from my heart:
Enjoy a beautiful walk today!
Solvitur Ambulando has about 1,000 subscribers. I receive texts, emails and other messages nearly every day from readers. Here are a few offering the reasons they read these pages:
“Russell's writing injects my reading life with gratitude, wonder, and kindness. With all three in short supply, reading him is essential.”
“Russell is one of the most thoughtful and heartfelt people I know. Those qualities shine through in his writing, too, whether he’s telling his own story or profiling another incredible human being.”
“Russell's writing and interviews are the perfect blend of head and heart. He engages in deep intellectual curiosity alongside gentle spiritual reflection. I appreciate his sincerity, introspection and rich breadth of subject matter. Russell is a thoughtful curator and explorer of many different views and interests. I am continually inspired by his meditations and conversations with others.”
– Rev. Christine Vaughan Davies of Journeying Alongside
“Spending a little time reading Solvitur Ambulando is like joining Russell on one of the thoughtful, contemplative, eye-opening walks that animate his daily life. I am always richer for the moments spent in his company.”
“Russell's newsletter is a gift of spirituality, trivia, history, interesting stories, and overall edification for the world.”
– L. Vago of Big Quit Energy
On the home page, you can find the essays that have attracted the most reader attention. Before exploring them, I suggest you start your journey with Solvitur Ambulando with these walks:
Walking with Ideas
Become What We Are — a poem about transitions
The Body Issue — born with a serious heart defect, how I came to love my body
Lessons on Business and Partnership from A Christmas Carol — Poor Marley never walked beyond his counting-house
Walking with People
A Biography of Fox Conner — Dwight Eisenhower’s forgotten mentor
The Musical and Life Brilliance of June Carter Cash — wife of Johnny Cash
Lessons from People Who Succeed Late in Life — a conversation with Henry Oliver on ‘late bloomers’
Walking Amidst the Scenes of Life
30 Walks in Nature — lovely summer walks around Louisville, Kentucky
Will Louisville Ever Have a Vibrant Downtown Again? — a question without a satisfying answer
6 Questions to Ask Yourself While Walking — I return to them again and again
Have you read “Things Become Other Things” by Craig Mod? Check it out. You may love!
As always, you inspire and delight.
After reading your piece, for the rest of the day, I've been pondering the benefits of simply being outside. I'm on my bike most days. In the summer I swim. In the winter, I ski. All of these things bring me the kind of peace you describe. It is a treat to read your musings. Thank you for sharing.