Jane's Pocket Change: Walk When You Can

This is the time of the year when I usually find myself trying to slow down a bit, to take things in and to be mindful that we are getting ready to enter the last Mod of the year, the last CSW Mod ever for our wonderful seniors. “Walk, not run” seems an apt phrase. When we walk, it seems that we can think more freely and also be more appreciative of the beauty of nature or the pretty city streets.
This is the time of the year when I usually find myself trying to slow down a bit, to take things in and to be mindful that we are getting ready to enter the last Mod of the year, the last CSW Mod ever for our wonderful seniors. “Walk, not run” seems an apt phrase. When we walk, it seems that we can think more freely and also be more appreciative of the beauty of nature or the pretty city streets.

I was easily drawn into an article in the New Yorker about walking, partly because it combined exercise with other passions of mine: reading and writing. “Why Walking Helps Us Think” by Ferris Jabr appeared first in September 2014 and Jabr pulled me in by describing how an excellent way to understand Joyce’s Ulysses and Woolf’s Mrs. Dalloway was by actually mapping out, and even walking if possible, the streets of Dublin and London described by these writers. Jabr then mentions several other writers, Wordsworth for one, who used walking as a way to take time to think and consider what they might write about or how they might develop their ideas. As Jabr explains in his article, walking, apparently, changes our chemistry:

“When we go for a walk, the heart pumps faster, circulating more blood and oxygen not just to the muscles, but to all the organs, including the brain. Many experiments have shown that after or during exercise, even very mild exertion, people perform better on tests of memory and attention. Walking on a regular basis also promotes new connections between brain cells, staves off the usual withering of brain tissue that comes with age, increases the volume of the hippocampus (a brain region crucial for memory), and elevates levels of molecules that both stimulate the growth of new neurons and transmit messages between them.”

One of the wonderful things about our campus, particularly at this time of year, is how easy it is to take a walk—around the Quad a few times, from the Upper Campus to the Lowers or venturing off campus to the gorgeous terrain of Cat Rock Park. Even on chilly or rainy days, the walking track in the Fit makes a stroll or a brisk walk easy, and the large tall windows allow you to feel that you are walking outside.

So, there are a couple of important reminders for us all here: walking is good for you in so many ways, including giving you time to think; and slowing down to enjoy the moments of what is going on around you is always good! I look forward to seeing you all on campus soon—at the musical, on the athletic fields or simply strolling around campus during these last weeks of our school year. Walk on!


__________________________________________________
Pocket Change is a web diary written by Jane Moulding, head of school.

The Cambridge School of Weston is a progressive high school for day and boarding students in grades 9–12 and PG. CSW's mission is to provide a progressive education that emphasizes deep learning, meaningful relationships, and a dynamic program that inspires students to discover who they are and what their contribution is to their school, their community and the world.