Walking: How To Stay Awake

“I do not think that what I am doing is wrong or crazy. I think what you are doing is weird. You are sitting while you have to be walking”.
When I look around, I see how audience faces change, they do not understand. They probably think: ‘Why should we walk if we created all of the comfortable ways of transportation and do not need to worry of getting late to our every day work or school?’ Paul Salopek, a global storyteller and a slow journalism specialist claims that he finds the satisfaction in what he has been doing for over a decade which is walking the pathways of the first humans who migrated out of Africa in the Stone Age.

“When I will be dying I want to look at my life back and be satisfied with what I did. Walking is the way to keep myself fully awake”.

While most of people may think that walking around the globe is such a crazy idea and only a person having a lot of money or courage can do that, Paul states that it is actually very normal, and that the society transformed in such way today that rarely any of us gets out of every day office job and takes a walk at least home.

Without a doubt one of the most important messages Paul wants to spread among people all around the globe is that each of us should look at our lives today and see how we can change it, so we become passionate and alive again, so when we die we will not regret anything we did not do.
While Paul is doing researches and learning langugaes, trying to work for multiple companies he is still the person just like any of us who shares his passion through travelling and capturing the stories.

“In the end of the day each of us still wants to be loved and we all share the same things”.

The world today lacks good stories and everyone of us can share something very important for humanity, and Paul is able of doing it.

He is not only sharing his personal adventures but thousands and thousands of other stories that are very meaningful. Travelling and meeting people helped Paul to see how the world is diverse, unique and beautiful.

He never travels alone, he always needs a company and usually travels with amazing people from all around the globe who also understand the importance of walking and storytelling.

“I do not travel alone, it would be too hard. I always communicate with people and can talk to strangers 15–20 times per day. It saved my life many times when I just stopped and did not rush”.

What we have to take from Paul Salopek’s experience is to not necessarily leave everything and walk, but take risks, slow down and look around.