WalkClickMake is all about getting lost.
Lost in the world. Lost at sea. Seeing afresh. Leaving home, then finding it again. A home made different by the journey.
Here are some ideas for getting lost in 2017.
Walk from the centre of your community to its outer edges.
We are all familiar with our own neighbourhood. We live there. We have constructed a mental map. Our routes are routine, taken by rote. But try walking out of that comfort zone, through industrial lands, through mall parking lots, across highways. That is a new world to most of us. And even though you may have driven there, even though you may work there, your pedestrian-eyed perspective will be totally different.
Take a walk in another city.
An unfamiliar city is a great place to get lost. Step outside your hotel, look around, use your eyes, ears and nose to select a direction. Walk that way. At the next intersection, stop, reassess your surroundings, reconsider your direction. Proceed. Repeat.
Do a pilgrimage route.
You don’t need to be a Christian to walk the Camino de Santiago in Spain. Or a Buddhist to walk the Henro route on Shikoku, Japan. The step-by-step, day-by-day rhythm of a long-distance walk becomes your chant. The new worlds you pass through are your sermons. The pilgrims you meet, your congregation.
Click away.
What strikes you as special? What made you change direction? What caused that head turn? Take photos. Record sounds. Jot notes. Sketch. Choose your weapon, but do it quickly. Let your thoughts, your senses, merge with your walking pace.
Make something of it.
I make little books, fictional maps of my voyages. It’s a way to make sense of my world. Not flat. Not round. Just mine.
Let your walks, your clicks, guide your creativity.
And always stay lost.
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