The other day I had to take my car into the shop. There they told me it would be some time before a diagnostic could be run and even longer to fix whatever was diagnosed. I could have easily called for someone to pick me up and take me home but I decided to just walk home.

I love walking. If I had my druthers, I’d walk an hour in the morning and another hour in the evening. But druthers and responsibilities make strange bedfellows.

The walk (on a one of Las Cruces’ most beautiful days of the year) allowed me some time to look around at a step-by-step speed. We miss a lot when we travel by car at 35 mph. Walking lets us witness life around us at the speed of us – our actual non-mechanically enhanced speed. Though I could drone on about the minutia of observations, suffice to say I enjoyed myself. I especially enjoyed the breathtaking architecture of a new Federal Courthouse being built that was designed by world renowned architect Antoine Predock.

There was also time to take in the beauty of a tree-lined path in the midst of a cemetery. Morbid as it may sound, cemeteries are quite peaceful places. I don’t feel death but rather rememberence. There is a strange harmony of nature in the cemetery mentioned. I walk it often.

What does this have to do with being off-line and off-the-grid? Well, simply taking a step back slowing down allows us to reflect in a natural way; a way we just can’t do with the hustle and bustle of the information super highway. Taking a walk away from all that speed lets us focus on things that matter most in life.

In short, taking a stroll lets us stop and smell the roses. And, yes, contrary to popular belief, the cemetery does not stink. Nor does the new Federal Courthouse. Kudos Mr. Predock!

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This entry was posted on Wednesday, March 24th, 2010 at 1:00 am and is filed under Blog..., Off Line and Off The Grid. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.