Solivtur Ambulando

by Rollie J.

Walking. The simple act of walking is on my brain of late. For one, with the onset of winter, and feeling like I’m in some kind of weird, funky, awkward new rut due to COVID restraints, I’m feeling a strong sense of restlessness stirring within. This restlessness comes like an old shadowy friend every few months and has me longing to explore, to stretch my legs, to move, to be alone, to wander, to wonder and to converse long term with my maker. I find myself looking at maps, exploring Google Earth and contemplating some “I wonder if this would be possible trips and excursions.” My mind has been drifting to the badlands Maah Daah Hey trail, Wyoming’s Wind River Range, the Beartooth Mountains, and the great white north. I find myself watching documentaries of the Pacific Crest and Continental Divide trails and other tails of canoeing the Canadian north. The haunting siren call of the unknown is beckoning me to move from the staleness and stagnation I am feeling from the current pandemic to some new adventure.

Solivtur ambulando - Latin for: “It is solved by walking.” I love this phrase! It’s beautiful, it’s wise, it’s Godly, and it even sounds cool to say! Solvitur ambulando! (Do I sound smarter when I say this? I think so!) This powerful phrase was coined by St. Augustine in the fifth century. What was good for St. Augustine, still holds true for us today. He’s saying and I paraphrase: Get off your butt, set down the TV remote, leave your cell phone on the counter, rise up from your permanently formed lazy boy, leave the potato chips in the cupboard, set aside your whining/complaining about all the COVID woes and walk! Get outside and walk regularly!

Soren Kierkegaard, Danish theologian, wrote so wisely; “Above all, do not lose your desire to walk; everyday I walk myself into a state of well-being and away from every illness; I have walked myself into my best thoughts, and I know of no thought so burdensome that one cannot walk away from it.” Homerun Soren! Out of the park! Preach brother preach! Amen. Is this not the perfect and most timely prescription for our times or what? When many of us are dreading the onset of winter, the cold, the wind, the gray days, and dreaded cabin fever of our long northern winters, compounded now by the isolation of COVID… Soren wisely suggest the simple, yet profound Godly gift of walking.

As a young adult I suffered from some strong anxiety issues. I found a compassionate and gifted counselor/pastor Jim Davies. He would rarely counsel from his office. Instead we almost always took a long walk. We would talk and walk. He would listen and ask reflective questions. He knew instinctively that there was innate healing in walking and forward movement. He knew deep in his soul about solvitur ambulando.

John Butcher so eloquently and concisely writes; “Walking is the first thing an infant wants to do, and the last thing an old person wants to give up. Walking is the exercise that doesn’t need a gym. It is the prescription without medicine, the weight control without diet, and the cosmetic that can’t be found in a chemist. It is the tranquilizer without a pill, the therapy without a psychoanalyst, and the holiday that is free. What’s more, it does not pollute, consumes few natural resources, and is highly efficient. Walking is convenient, needs no special equipment, is self-regulating, and inherently safe. Walking is as natural as breathing.” Can I get an “Amen?”

The other reason, beyond my restless spirit, that my mind has been on walking is our friend Martin Esteban Echegary Davies. Martin walked his way from the southern tip of Patagonia, Argentina to Fargo. This little trek was over 14,000 miles and two years in the making. He walked all these miles pulling his 200-pound cart through 14 different countries only to be stopped by the snow, wind and cold here in Fargo on his way to Tok, Alaska last January. We, the good folk of First Lutheran and greater FM area, became his hosts for a short time to get him through the severe winter months, that soon turned into eight months with the Canadian Border closure, and the restrictions of the pandemic. Many of you reading this became gracious and loving hosts to Martin, providing good meals and a warm place to stay. Thank you!

Several weeks ago, I received a call from Buenos Aires, Argentina from a journalist writing for Rolling Stone Magazine Argentina. The delightful and articulate travel writer, Carolina Remúndez and I conversed for an hour or so, about Martin’s long stay here in Fargo. My rough Spanish held up well enough, and when I got stuck, Carolina jumped in with some solid English. Her fascinating article was just released, and the link is below. And although I do have a photo in the article, I did not get “My picture on the cover of the Rolling Stone!” My apologies to Dr. Hook!

Her article can be read here: The Man Who Walked Too Much.

So as of late I’m reading about and communicating lots with or about Martin. I think back to those eight months together and ponder the “whys” and “whats” of his presence among us. What was I to learn about life from this long encounter? He never once spoke about God or faith, and I purposely probed and prodded him on several occasions. There appeared to be no great spiritual aspect to his goal or his journey as is often the case on these types of epic journeys. To this day I ponder, what is the take-away from my time with Martin? What was I to learn or grow from Martin’s presence among us? In the context of today’s writing I know this… Martin loved to walk.

Jesus was a walker. Certainly, out of necessity since there were no Ubers or Lyfts, but I get a strong sense that Jesus walked because it was right, holistic, healthy, meaningful, and Godly. One of my favorite Jesus encounter stories is that of Jesus walking the road to Emmaus with two of his disciples. (Luke 24:13-35)

These two men are simply walking toward the next town, most likely seven plus miles away. They are grieving heavily for their friend, leader, and savior who has just suffered a brutal death on the cross. They are confused, scared, depressed, disoriented, fatigued, anxious, and bone-weary tired for all the emotions of the past weeks. Nothing makes sense. They are without purpose, meaning, or direction. Everything they thought they knew had been washed away. They are staring into a dark, uncertain, and empty future.

Jesus happens to saddle up next to them and joins them “on their walk” but they are somehow kept from recognizing him. Jesus quietly walks along beside them the whole way. Not pushing from behind, no pulling from the front, just walking alongside them. He mostly listens as these two grieving men pour out their heavy hearts. He occasionally asks questions even though he knows the answers. Jesus is simply present, available, and accessible. The two men don’t even know who they’re talking to!

A fork in the road comes, and Jesus feigns like he is continuing onward. Jesus never forces himself on anyone. Jesus waits, and then receives the invitation. The two men have felt something stirring and moving from walking with this man, and desire for this stranger to continue walking alongside them. So, Jesus continues to walk with them by invitation only.

Upon their arrival in Emmaus, they broke bread together and suddenly they recognized Jesus. Just as quickly, Jesus disappears, and they utter these famous and profound words; “Were not our hearts burning within us while he talked with us on the road and opened the Scriptures to us?”

Jesus is waiting for your invitation to walk alongside you. He will never force his way into your world. But as you walk, he will listen, he will be present, available, and accessible. You can pour out all your struggles, grief, anger, frustration, anxiety, fear, and confusion. He will listen and walk along with you through all of it.

May you have the courage to leave the sofa, the couch, and the recliner and go for a walk. It is good, it is right, it is wholesome, and it is a Godly gift. It might be just what the Great Physician prescribes for you during these difficult times. May you invite Jesus to join you as you walk and talk. Maybe too, your heart with burn within as God gives you His peace, His wisdom, and His strength. Solivtur ambulando.

-- Rollie J.

A side note: Since early September, Martin is now safely back in his home in Trelew, Argentina quarantining with his family. He is in good health and strong spirits and he sends his gratitude and hugs to all who assisted him here in Fargo. He mentions frequently that as he tells his stories about his stay in Fargo, and the warmth and hospitality that he received, people’s viewpoints on Americans are changing.

Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him
Colossians 2:6 ESV

Whether you turn to the right of to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying “This is the way; Walk in it!”
Isaiah 30:21

Thus says the Lord; Stand at the crossroads, and look, And ask for the ancient paths, where the good way lies; And walk in it and find rest for your souls.
Jeremiah 6;16

What does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?
Micah 6:8

Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”
John 8:12

It is always good to be out and about, especially on our feet. Walking, the simplest of tools, is among the most profound. It makes us larger than we are. When we walk, we wake up our consciousness. We enliven our senses. We arrive at a sense of well-being. We experience “conscious contact” with a power greater than ourselves. That still, small voice is automatically amplified a footfall at a time. “Solvitur ambulando,” St. Augustine is said to have remarked. “It is solved by walking. No matter what the “it” is, walking helps to unravel it. Without shame or scolding walking puts a gentle end to self-involvement. Almost without noticing it, we become engaged with a world larger than ourselves and our concerns.  Walking makes us more whole. It mends the body/mind split by promoting the release of endorphins, tiny neural messengers of optimism. We can walk our way to sanity. We can walk our way to clarity. Baffled and confused we can walk our way to knowing the “next right step.”
Julia Cameron, Finding Water

< Return to Sermons & Devotions