“I only went out for a walk and finally concluded to stay out till sundown, for going out, I found, was really going in.”
– John Muir
Henry David Thoreau's 1862 essay, "Walking," promotes his philosophy, "all good things are wild and free." He remarks about the connections of human beings and nature and criticizes individuals for their lack of a relationship with nature. During Thoreau's experiences of walking into the forest near his home, he compares nature's divinity and the spirit of walking with Christianity and mythology.
Thoreau urges readers to marvel at the mythological wonders of sunset.
Charles Baudelaire
writes about the perfect stroller (the flâneur) in character, Monsieur Constantin Guys.
In his essay, "The Painter of Modern Life" (1863),
he reveals Guys as a gentleman motivated by curiosity, joy and delight in new experiences. Guys observes the crowd in urban spaces as a "passionate spectator."
He saunters and inspiration leads him to become an artist, a man of the world and, "spiritual citizen of the universe."
He saunters and inspiration leads him to become an artist, a man of the world and, "spiritual citizen of the universe."
“The external world is reborn upon his paper,” Baudelaire writes, “natural and more than natural . . . strange and endowed with an impulsive life like the soul of its creator.”
A "passionate spectator,' needs to ramble, wander and wonder. Then make notes about what crosses the path. Focus on interactions and individuals met in urban and natural settings.
Discover the curiosity and delight in new experiences.
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