4 ms·

I know it's petty and unavoidable, but it's a bummer to click an ambiguous headline like that hoping for a new tool to add to your repertoire as a wheelchair us

by serf 4y ago

I know it's petty and unavoidable, but it's a bummer to click an ambiguous headline like that hoping for a new tool to add to your repertoire as a wheelchair user. That's one thing that I miss from my able-bodied life, contemplative walks. Rolling a wheelchair around and dealing with the intrinsic difficulties associated with doing so really destroys any kind of meditative quality out of the experience. Now my deep meditative thoughts come to me in the shower, but it still doesn't hold a candle to a stroll through town during a brisk winter in fair weather. Apologies for bringing down the mood, but I feel better.

sanjayio 4y ago
For what it’s worth, I think the article is pointing towards deep contemplative thoughts driven by some action like walking. As someone who’s had my ability to walk in jeopardy, I always thought a row machine or rope pull down machine could accomplish a similar result. The goal being, airing out your brain and moving blood. I don’t mean to marginalize your feelings, they’re valid, just trying to share some past thoughts.
ad404b8a372f2b9 4y ago
Hahaha, sorry I empathize but I'm so delighted that I'm not the only one who feels this way. It's not a feeling that most people can relate to, the absolute deflating feeling when you open an article about the greatest tool ever and it goes: The Walk. It's kinda funny.
- andai 4y ago
  Turns out history's greatest men have something in common with man's best friend :)
theoa 4y ago
@serf > Now my deep meditative thoughts come to me in the shower A great place to start! Here's a thought that might get you into some even deeper water: Have you thought about swimming? I'm a partial-paraplegic and below-elbow on left arm amputee. I can walk but not well. My favorite walking replacement has been swimming. I'm not fast, but I can swim for hours. In any case, I feel that almost any repetitive physical action - even shelling pea pods - can become meditative.
designed 4y ago
Wheelchair user as well. I understand what you're saying. After 19 years in a chair, I recently bought a FreeWheel. My only regret is not getting one sooner. It definitely makes getting out and about easier and more enjoyable. Nothing comes easy for us, so we've gotta make things easy.
pedalpete 4y ago
You actually made me reconsider how I think about this. My initial reaction to the article was that I suspect the benefit is less about the walking and more about the time spent contemplating, thinking, and the way our mind works when walking. I wasn't at all thinking about the challenges of somebody who cannot walk, and you opened my eyes to the idea that for someone in a wheelchair, "rolling" doesn't really compare. I get that there is probably some cognitive load navigating with a wheelchair create, but I thought that would disappear, and the idea of "movement" would be the same, but it looks like I'm wrong about that.
cik 4y ago
Would a hand bike work for you? My most meditative moments (outside of walking and prayer) have always been cycling. For the brief (several months) period where I was wheelchair bound.. a hand bike was the thing that helped me clear my head, and make me smile.

by serf 4y ago

sanjayio 4y ago

For what it’s worth, I think the article is pointing towards deep contemplative thoughts driven by some action like walking. As someone who’s had my ability to walk in jeopardy, I always thought a row machine or rope pull down machine could accomplish a similar result. The goal being, airing out your brain and moving blood. I don’t mean to marginalize your feelings, they’re valid, just trying to share some past thoughts.

ad404b8a372f2b9 4y ago

Hahaha, sorry I empathize but I'm so delighted that I'm not the only one who feels this way. It's not a feeling that most people can relate to, the absolute deflating feeling when you open an article about the greatest tool ever and it goes: The Walk. It's kinda funny.

andai 4y ago
Turns out history's greatest men have something in common with man's best friend :)

theoa 4y ago

@serf > Now my deep meditative thoughts come to me in the shower A great place to start! Here's a thought that might get you into some even deeper water: Have you thought about swimming? I'm a partial-paraplegic and below-elbow on left arm amputee. I can walk but not well. My favorite walking replacement has been swimming. I'm not fast, but I can swim for hours. In any case, I feel that almost any repetitive physical action - even shelling pea pods - can become meditative.

designed 4y ago

Wheelchair user as well. I understand what you're saying. After 19 years in a chair, I recently bought a FreeWheel. My only regret is not getting one sooner. It definitely makes getting out and about easier and more enjoyable. Nothing comes easy for us, so we've gotta make things easy.

pedalpete 4y ago

You actually made me reconsider how I think about this. My initial reaction to the article was that I suspect the benefit is less about the walking and more about the time spent contemplating, thinking, and the way our mind works when walking. I wasn't at all thinking about the challenges of somebody who cannot walk, and you opened my eyes to the idea that for someone in a wheelchair, "rolling" doesn't really compare. I get that there is probably some cognitive load navigating with a wheelchair create, but I thought that would disappear, and the idea of "movement" would be the same, but it looks like I'm wrong about that.

cik 4y ago

Would a hand bike work for you? My most meditative moments (outside of walking and prayer) have always been cycling. For the brief (several months) period where I was wheelchair bound.. a hand bike was the thing that helped me clear my head, and make me smile.