“Spiritual Benefits of Walking,” Liahona, Apr. 2022, United States and Canada Section.
Aging Faithfully
Spiritual Benefits of Walking
Walking can bless us not only physically but emotionally and spiritually as well.
Not too long ago, a group of friends and I—all retired and mostly in our 70s—became aware of a study suggesting that seniors benefit in many ways simply from walking.
In addition to asking study participants to go on a 15-minute walk each week, the researchers asked half of the walkers to notice ordinary but compelling scenes and details along their path—to experience a sense of awe.
All of the participants were also asked to take selfies during their walks. As the study progressed, those in the “awe group” tended to take selfies in which they appeared small in order to include the things they noticed as they walked. They began to look at everyday life with fresh awareness.
The “awe walks,” as they came to be called, not only reduced stress and anxiety in this “awe group” but also increased optimism and fostered a sense of well-being. 1
Sharing Selfies
My friends and I decided to give it a try. After a few attempts, we added a significant new component. In addition to becoming more observant ourselves, we shared our selfies with members of our extended families. This helped us to connect with them as we shared our everyday discoveries.
After talking about these “awe walks” for a few weeks, one sister in my ward commented: “Some of us are very involved in family history. This is a good way to supplement our own personal history by talking about our personal insights and observations.”
Another sister, who missed seeing family members during the coronavirus pandemic, said: “During COVID, I felt more alone and isolated than I had in years. Even our children and grandchildren stayed away so that we wouldn’t get the virus. We missed seeing them and talking about their plans. We thought sending these selfies with brief comments could be a good way to express gratitude for our blessings without being preachy.”
Initially, family members didn’t quite know how to respond. Mostly they gave one-word replies like “Nice” or “Interesting.” But as we continued, we received more comments and had conversations with extended family members that otherwise would never have occurred to us.
Brent and Loretta Julander, some of our friends who enjoy walking, told us that while they were serving a mission as a senior couple in Nauvoo, Illinois, they often walked several long blocks up a steep hill from their apartment to the temple. As they looked up at the temple, thinking of what the Saints built and then left behind, their walks became a time to contemplate the courage, love, and hope of those who came before. Their experience reminded me of this scripture: “We took sweet counsel together, and walked unto the house of God in company” (Psalm 55:14).
Nurturing Wonder
As I thought more about the Julanders’ experience, another scripture came to mind. I hadn’t really associated it with walking before. Now, however, it seemed like a perfect goal for those who walk in order to nurture a sense of wonder: “All things denote there is a God; yea, even the earth, and all things that are upon the face of it … do witness that there is a Supreme Creator” (Alma 30:44).
It dawned on me that if I was observant as I walked, I would see many things that bore witness they were made by God. Such observations led me to admire the intricate patterns in a leaf in a neighbor’s yard, the distinctive rise of Signal Peak in the Pine Valley mountain range, and the lazy flight of a red-tailed hawk over Little Valley as living evidence that God created the world. They helped me see that “the earth is the Lord’s, and the fulness thereof” (Psalm 24:1).
Another time while I was walking with my wife in the evening hours, we were caught up in the interplay of fading daylight and the approaching darkness of nightfall. Another scripture came to mind:
“He that ascended up on high, as also he descended below all things, in that he comprehended all things, that he might be in all and through all things, the light of truth. …
“Which light proceedeth forth from the presence of God to fill the immensity of space—
“The light which is in all things, which giveth life to all things, which is the law by which all things are governed, even the power of God who sitteth upon his throne, who is in the bosom of eternity, who is in the midst of all things” (Doctrine and Covenants 88:6, 12–13).
I was immediately filled with deep peace and a sense of reverence. In other words, I was walking with awe. I shared what I was thinking with my wife, and we had a long discussion about the Light of Christ.
When we started “awe walks,” our goal was to reduce isolation and replace the blandness of ordinary walking with more of a sense of wonder. They achieved that and much more.
The author lives in Utah.