A machine for walking

I have rented a machine to do my walking for me. I can walk, of course, and choose to do so often. Sometimes I walk because my work demands it; that I should go to a particular place at a specified time to discuss some expected (and often unexpected) matters with the expected (and occasionally, unexpected) people. This walking can vary in difficulty and distance, and over the years I am certain that the practice has made me better at it. On other occasions, I will walk – on purpose – for pleasure. I may choose to walk in the countryside to rekindle a connection to the natural world, reminding myself what a very small collection of biological bits and bobs I am in comparison to everything else around me. Sometimes I shall amble along an overgrown lane just because I might bump into an unexpected bird or bug that I can add to my catalogue of encounters. More rarely, I will choose to walk up a mountain, picking my way up a massive monolith to the ebbs and flows of geological happenstance…