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A pilgrim's way

Reflections on walking, gardening and writing

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  • A pilgrim’s way
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I am happiest while hiking, moving one foot after another, carrying only a bottle of water, a bag of snacks, notebook and pen, slicker in case of bad weather and a few bucks in case I stumble across a cafe. Walking slows the world down and opens me to all that surrounds me, moss and wind, muck and meadow.  Walking is a meditative, simplifying act, exhausting, discovering, deeply satisfying.

This is strange given that I spend  probably 350 days a year not hiking. At best, I walk within the limits of practical considerations — time, distance and all I have to do.  There are chores and visits, causes and obligations. Too often I walk on the treadmill at the YMCA, walking a virtual path through the Canadian Rockies that does not smell of pine.

But walking nourishes me as writing  does — allowing me to look more deeply at life and wonder at what I see. Since retiring as a journalist and nonprofit director two years ago, I’ve been working to find my groove as a fiction writer, often caught in the net of self-criticism and reluctant to release my work to the world. With this blog, I hope to develop the practice of writing as I walk — with faithfulness, openness and trust in the world.

About

Lynda McDonnell is a writer, editor and hiker in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Since retiring from running a small nonprofit in 2014, she’s been writing essays, working on her first novel and discovering the joys and uncertainties of life beyond child-rearing and full-time work. Writing and hiking are her favorite ways to examine the world.

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I’m eager to hear from you. Share comments and responses here.

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