The Art of Meandering

Before the pandemic, I refused to go anywhere without purpose, I insisted on the shortest route possible and regularly completed several tasks along the way. I made phone calls, picked up groceries, and made drop-offs, all before reaching my destination in the time I had allotted myself. I was overly busy, often frazzled, and perpetually tired.

Surprisingly, the experience of lockdowns, isolation, and limited indoor gatherings changed all that for the better.

Isolation gave me the permission I wouldn’t give myself to remain still a long, long while. Though I recognized the need to move more once the ache of a sedentary life took hold, I found it was okay to venture out if the mere act of moving was my purpose. In Spring of this year, I began going to the park more and, in doing so, everything changed.

Though my destination was nearby, I took time en route to smell flowers, saunter in the shade of trees lining the street, veer through a smaller park, and ponder the randomness of leaves on an unknown plant before eventually arriving at my destination. Once there, I began meandering; sometimes on a path, sometimes not. I weaved between trees, investigated their patterns, and contemplated their bark. I noticed the different scents passing on the breeze and the feel of different textures underfoot. I sipped tea from a travel mug and stopped awhile to read some lines from a book before gradually pointing myself towards home.

In the weeks that followed, I found myself meandering between other locations outside of my trips to, and through, the park. I took any opportunity to wander down unfamiliar streets. Like opening an unexpected package, every new street was a gift of discovery and I became a sponge, soaking up the sights, sounds, and smells each exotic route offered. Encounters as brief as a smile or as long as a conversation were sparkling gems gathered on my unplanned path that I later placed lovingly in my treasure chest of experience.

The act of meandering does not require a canvas or clay, fabric or instruments. It may not fit the typical definitions of something as creative as a painting, sculpture, or poetry. The philosophers are not likely to expand their definition of art wide enough to include it.  And while that may be so, there is artistry in meandering that can only be understood by doing it.