Solvitur ambulando

it is solved by walking

Photo by Chandler Cruttenden on Unsplash

Disclaimer:

This piece is about me and my love of the ambulating. Not all of us have the physical ability to walk and, as I have learned through my work in Kenya with Persons with Disabilities, *my* solvitur ambulando is another human’s solvitur yoga or meditation or basketball or rowing…

I've strutted my way through the rollercoaster of my life.

From raising a human to creating a powerful personal brand to moving from Austin to the Bay Area (and back again), to navigating the rocky terrain of divorce, to working in East Africa and, now, to striding confidently into my next.

🚶🏻‍♀️SOLVITUR AMBULANDO: it is solved by walking

Here's the thing, what walking does for me has nothing to do with step count or marathons (although I did dance-walk one of those).

Around here walking is the perfect parallel to the consistency in the rest of my life. It's about the steady pattern of putting one foot in front of the other—whether I’m outdoors in the ATX or tromping through the streets of a new city.

SOLVITUR AMBULANDO

18 years ago, not yet entirely sold on the benefits of walking, I was navigating the early days of motherhood. Child in sling (strollers didn’t work on the bumpy cobblestones in Guatemala) and my world a whirlwind of solo-parenting and sleepless nights.

It was during those zombie-like walks I discovered my moving meditation. The rhythmic count of Keens on cobblestones unraveling the challenges of parenting one step at a time.

Yep--wearing shants.

🚶🏻‍♀️I strode my way into personal brand creation

Still not walking for exercise, this time I ambulated to find my groove and spark creativity.

Unlike Zumba or spin class, walking didn’t demand I devote conscious effort to the movement so my mind was left free to both wander and innovate.

Initially I carried a small notebook for my thoughts, eventually I transitioned to voice notes on my phone. The entire time I stepped my creative brain whirled in a way it simply did *not* when seated at a desk.

This New Yorker article (one I consistently share with clients) offers more of the science behind why this works.

Short version? It fosters neuroplasticity--the brain's remarkable ability to adapt and rewire itself.

Henry David Thoreau’s quote captures it perfectly and simply:

Methinks that the moment my legs begin to move, my thoughts begin to flow.

Translation? When I’m ambulating I’m creative as a mother-trucker.

BrandCarla circa 2014

SOLVITUR AMBULANDO

🚶🏻‍♀️I leaned hard on my walking-habit when I relocated

Austin, Texas to Oakland, California.

I knew walking was the way to immerse, connect and solve the question of Who exactly *is* Oakland Carla?

Not only did strolling turn what could have been stressful into a scavenger hunt of sorts (seeking interesting places & even more compelling people)—walking helped me solve the labyrinth like layout of my new community far more rapidly than google maps ever could.

My walking habit connected me to Oakland one step, one new friend at a time.

I’ve worn this for over a decade

🚶🏻‍♀️During my divorce walking became my witness

During the dissolution of my marriage my walking habit, now more plodding than anything else, transformed into a reliable companion through tears and reflection.

The streets of my Austin neighborhood bore witness to my shock and sadness and, with each stride, I found the strength to piece myself back together.

Walking wasn't a sprint away from my problems; it was a steady march toward healing.

Walking became the bridge between a past I needed to prepare to let go of and a future filled with potential.

soulmate friends created though walking

🚶🏻‍♀️I stepped into new work; my gait did not falter

Exciting new global job.

Creating connection across kilometers and cultures.

Tremendous opportunity to gain new experiences and show myself (and by extension my Team) what I was capable of.

To adapt and excel, I tapped into the power of walking.

Walking not only helped me adjust my internal clock to the early wake-ups for that time zone work—it supercharged my brain.

Increased blood flow and oxygenation from my walks boosted my attention, memory, and information processing on those mornings when coffee was not enough.

Solvitur ambulando quickly became instrumental in navigating answering the questions of my new role and bridging the gap between me and my Team 8,000 miles away.

Workbreak in Kenya with my fave human

SOLVITUR AMBULANDO

This mantra, embraced by humans ranging from Virginia Woolf to Steve Jobs to Søren Kierkegaard to me, reminds us walking not only facilitates physical well-being, it bears witness through struggles, gives momentum to our creativity and helps us gain clarity and perspective on what can feel overwhelming when static.

For me, work challenge to family dilemma, to creative conundrum to coaching query, it is solved by walking.

Now you.

• Are you like I am in the adoration of the walk as solution finder for all things?

• If not the ‘ambulando’, what is your IT IS SOLVED BY movement/activity?