Yesterday, my God was the God of Walkers and the Bike. I got in an eight mile ride (short for a weekend ride, but I’m out of pedal practice) and a five mile walk to Whole Foods to score some Burt’s Bees gear and Preserve toothbrushes. The only bad thing is that it made the cold I can’t seem to shake ten times worse. But I find this passage from Moleskine and walking hero Bruce Chatwin heartening just the same:
He offered to show me over the Institute. In their library the books were all Bahai literature. I noted* down two titles — The Wrath of God and Epistle to the Son of the Wolf, Bahai Ullah. There was also a Guide to Better Writing.
“Which religion have you?” Ali asked. “Christian?”
“I haven’t got any special religion this morning. My God is the God of Walkers. If you walk hard enough, you probably don’t need any other God.”
From Chatwin, Bruce. In Patagonia. Penguin Books: New York, 1988 edition. Page 33.
*[In a Moleskine? :^)]
[...] Getting boys from Hampden and the surrounding areas to cook their own food, to hike all day and not to kill each other along the way is an accomplishment. But we had a good group for the most part, so it was not that big of a task this time around. I remember what a handful I could be at that age. I think everyone had a good time, even the older guys who needed Advil pronto. I’ll brag and say that I was ready for more after two hours sitting around the campfire with a cup of coffee. But I share Bruce Chatwin’s “God of Walkers.” [...]
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