The Beat of our Souls

Here’s a beautiful piece from a guest contributor, Natianna Ohmart.

I hate cars. They’re loud, expensive, and bad for us in more ways than one. Like Lizzie Bennett, I like to walk. I believe the world was meant to be experienced on our own two feet. We should be immersed in our own setting, grounded by the soles of our feet. Our steps should echo those of our ancestors - reaching, striving, hungry for the path ahead, aware of where they had been, rooted in where they were by the slap of skin or leather or rubber against the ground. 

Walking is rhythm. It is a beat for life to dance to. In the chaos of our modern world full which values productivity and efficiency over people and connection, we silence the natural melody of our own soul in favor of ease and speed. 

What if, instead, we chose to do the hard thing? What if we created space for our chests to expand fully with breath, our heels to feel the earth below us, and our legs to feel the burn of the distances we have travelled?

When dogs walk side by side, they learn that they are on the same team team. They realize they are not opponents, but compares. Somewhere in those shared steps they find unity. What if we, as humans, chose to walk alongside each other? Perhaps we could hear the rhythm of our feet moving in time and realize that together they are not discordant, but a symphony of life that needs each individual beat to create harmony.