The Extraordinary Magic of a Simple Evening Walk
Join me down a rabbit hole so deep I end up reminiscing about my childhood and ranting about the shortcomings of our society, all in one article.
They say that the best way to get through writer’s block is to take a walk. Luckily for me, the weather in Dubai has just started to properly cool down.
It’s two hours after sunset when I leave the house, and the sky is gradually adopting darker shades of blue.
I try my best not to think. I had been writing all week and was becoming increasingly frustrated by my lack of progress. I’m tempted to tune myself out with music, but something stops me. Maybe it’s the need for a full and complete break.
I focus instead on my surroundings, and I slowly begin to notice how beautiful the streets are. The residential lampposts shine a gentle light, colouring the neighbourhood in soft yellow hues. I admire how some houses are already decorated with Christmas lights while others maintain bare exteriors contrasted by the steady collections of potted plants. Each and every entrance sparks a different curiousity and welcome. I couldn’t help but look at open windows or open an ear to muffled conversations that waft from gardens. Families watched TV downstairs, friends enjoyed drinks on the patio, and scooters lay strewn on the front porch in childish abandon. Crickets chirped from underneath fancy cars, and the tram chimed its metallic presence just outside this protected shared space in busy Dubai.
The compound was teeming with life, but it seems that only in silent observance does life feel it could speak and be heard.
I started wondering why I hadn’t picked up on these details before. Had I become that desensitised to the ordinary? Have notifications become so constant and nagging that resisting the urge to pick up my phone has become nearly impossible? From wake to sleep, we’re told by others (and now possibly AI, too) that our bodies, lifestyles, possessions, relationships and interests aren’t enough - even though, in reality, we have more than we could ever need.
Is it possible that we’ve become too overstimulated and distracted to regularly appreciate the richness of the world around us? As a result, has the concept of undivided attention become a rarity rather than a given in our modern-day society?
The kicker is that I think curing our collective dopamine addiction by taking walks, slowing down and getting off our phones would actually provide us with the highs we so crave - because living through our screens is not life. It’s a distraction from life.
And I’m not saying there’s anything wrong with a healthy dose of escapism. After all, that’s one of the reasons why people write, paint, sing and solve math equations. I’m just saying that not every distraction is created equal. The more time we give to mindless activities that completely detach us from the present, the less we have to connect with what truly matters - our relationships, the environment and ourselves.
If we give every day the attention it truly deserves, not a single moment would feel too fast, too slow, too dull or too same. They would all feel just right. Every part of life would be something to be appreciated. Every second would be worth living because the world is bigger than our individual, stupid human problems.
Before walking back, I detour to stop by my childhood home. It happens to be a street down from where we currently live. It’s the same old place, but tonight it seems different. The door is ajar, leaking light onto the front step and illuminating four pairs of sandals on the porch. Two small and two big. A big cat suddenly slinks out from behind the gate. It stares at me and then tips its head as if to say, ‘Thanks for passing by again.’ And just as my 8-year-old self passed through that house every day, full of energy, meaning and purpose - I pass through this moment and into the next with only so much as a glance back to an already fading memory. Life goes on always, whether we realise it or not.
You never fail to hit the nail on the head! Thank you for writing this, was a pleasure to read and helped clarify these emotions I’ve been feeling but struggle to put into words, I really felt this piece!
absolutely magical choice of words. I could literally see you walking and everything you saw and felt in my mind, and to do that with only words is talent. I loved to hear your thoughts, and I know exactly how you felt. I find it so hard to not get soaked in by the virtual world, especially since everything seems to remind us to check our phone. Alone-time went from being normal and regular to being a challenge. Being alone with my thoughts is quite literally my biggest nightmare, but after reading this, maybe I'll face that nightmare, and maybe I'll take a walk, and look at the street next time I feel I can't create anymore :) thank you for this piece, I needed this