Saul Ronsayro: Kenotic Walking (assigned reading 5)

 Walking is one of, if not the most talked about thing throughout this entire semester in this class. Everything about walking has been discussed, from the stories of Dr. Redick's hikes and trail walks to the profound elements you can encounter. Kenotic walking falls on the latter as you enter a state akin to a flow state of nothingness. In this paper, Dr. Redick clearly distinguishes between kenotic walking and mindfulness meditation, as one involves going deeper into yourself, and the other is a state of not being yourself. When Dr. Redick assigned this reading, I decided to try and see if I could enter this state because why not? While I did not manage it fully, I started to glimpse what he was talking about, especially when I tried it on the Noland Trail. I entered a state where things started to fade away, and I was just a consciousness inside myself. It started to show me what self-emptying through walking accomplished: a sense of freedom. 

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