Tracing a Headland in the book Wanderlust: A History of Walking

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Exploring the positives of Wanderlust from “Tracing a Headland”
Rebecca Solnit’s essay Tracing a Headland in the book Wanderlust: A History of Walking winds through a myriad of discussions such as the origins of bipedalism, collective action of protests and the effects of technological developments on the human race. Solnit is a talented and influential author whose literary works highlight on societal issues.
The first theme in Solnit’s essay shares on the origins of bipedalism and the act of walking which she summarizes as a subconscious action where the body, mind and the environment are intertwined into one (p.2). Solnit expounds on the fact that walking has facilitated the establishment paths and roads and has opened up parks and cities and rural and urban areas. Walking has also enabled mountaineering expeditions and the writing of guidebooks. Solnit dwells on therapeutic benefits of walking through nature and focuses on its ability to treat anxiety and stress related issues. Secondly, Solnit shares that many individuals around the world have staged peaceful marching protests to voice their displeasures about various issues such as discrimination and gender inequality. However, these innocent acts have been misconstrued and the protestors labeled trespassers. Solnit notes “the form our demonstrations took was walking: what was on the public land side of the fence a ceremonious procession became, on the off-limits side, an act of trespassing in arrest” (Solnit 8). The statement is in reiteration to the fact that corruption and massive land grabbing has seen the loss of the once public land to private developments. Pathways and footpaths have been consumed and turned into private parking lots where individuals can no longer walk about aimlessly. Additionally, Solnit shares the same sentiments on the significance of walking as Henry David Thoreau who acknowledged that a few hours of an afternoon walk had immense relief on the human mind and tends to open individuals to limitless possibilities. Every walk that people take opens them to new dimensions.
Solnit also shares on the negative effects of technological developments that have engulfed the human race by impeding on their free time. Personally I believe these developments have greatly helped people to perform various tasks quickly and effectively. However, they have eliminated some crucial pleasures such as cloud gazing and window shopping. As a result, individuals have become lazy because they can afford to have goods and services bought and done at their own convenience. Public spaces have been consumed with developers building private facilities with barriers to walking. Streets no longer have sidewalks, walls and gates have been built to enclo...