Parc de Buttes Chaumont Walk

"The earth is all before me. With a heart

Joyous, nor scared at its own liberty,

I look about; and should the chosen guide

Be nothing better than a wandering cloud,


I cannot miss my way. I breathe again!"

-Wordsworth,The Prelude

Wordworth writes about the function of walking and how, similar to Thoreau, is a means for escaping the filled and crowded life we know too well. 

                    "Ah! better far than this, to stray about 250

          Voluptuously through fields and rural walks,
          And ask no record of the hours, resigned
          To vacant musing, unreproved neglect
          Of all things, and deliberate holiday."

He focusses on the walker as a person, who he is and why they see the freedom they do. Wordsworth makes it apparent that the escape is not as simple as trying to adopt a new take on things, or getting tired with the status quo, although important, he is finding refuge in isolation, avoiding all social contact. 

People like Thoreau, Emerson and Wordsworth, preaching a transcendentalist type    point overall are not shy to admit the refuge they find so much in isolation and complete lack of socializing. They are obviously happy with being away from people and social construct, but why? Is it a matter of fear or intimidation of being separated from something, not being  part of something so much that you remove yourself t avoid being alienated socially? 

All these type of self-finding authors like Wordsworth and Emerson who most famously said "Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail." It the whole idea that you are better off finding what has not been found than something that has been discovered. For Wordsworth, the escape is mysterious, and finding this mystery is what he is set on.

This mystery that these writers are talking about is usually finding that they are interested in the simple life, bare bones, the essentials, and that detaching themselves from the busy world, a world with rules may not be out of fear of alienation but simply preference, a preference only walking and exploring could give them. Coverley mostly writes about the joy of simplicity in that he's on this journey discovering himself, discovering the need and appreciation for a simple life, and how of that comes the discovery of spirituality or maybe not discovery but newfound acceptance. You as well as Covereley can see the difference between Wordsworth and Thoreau and the transcendentalist writers writings and his own, his answering more, going deep into his spiritual psychology. But they all share there look at the simple essentials based life.

Junior year of high school half the year in an English studies class we learned the trandentlaist movement, eventually creating a project that would show and implement our understanding of different writers like Thoreau. So I am in tune with Thoreau's reason for leaving society, something I could and still can connect too. The emphasis in his works put on the fact the world (city life) he came from  was never going to allow him to find himself, so walking and escaping that world to a quiet and open woods setting could make him realize something about himself or something greater than him just based on a setting, which I love.

The world now as we see it is known, going out and finding yourself like Thoreau is harder, there is more to escape and what there is to escape from is a world we depend so much on, a world of familiarity, technology and socializing. The nature filled land Thoreau loves so much is not upon our gaze as we walk by a park. That is a copy or natural nature, making it hard to appreciate it as much as a solid walk in the woods. When you think about it, its fucked up how society knows that tearing the natural world down and creating this flat industrial, skyscraper filled place is wrong, yet they will create this thing called a "park" to make up for it. Many people will fall for it and appreciate the park, which nothing is wrong with that, but in reality they are mocking earth, the earth that Wordsworth, Covereley, and Thoreau knew and used to benefit themselves, naturally. Now to do what they did people take short cuts, entrench themselves in media or zoo's, gardens and therapy, but there is also nothing wrong with using alternatives or falling for these things, because if you still get something great of them, out of yourself, why care. 

THE WALK:

With the aforementioned in mind, that is not to say I am one to sometimes fall for it, especially the Parc de Buttes Chaumont, I did not even think it was fake till I started a second walk around looking more intimately. I needed this, head not being where I wanted it lately, and this really helped. By far was the best walk I have taken so far, regardless of whether that be because I needed it or not. I went in the morning and it was beautiful. It was not packed, although there were runners they usually never took the small paths that interested me, but the larger ones near the water. It was quiet, although getting a little louder in different places of the park still relatively quiet for being in the city. 

Minutes into my walk I was brought somewhere. The smell of plants, the fresh air just rained upon went into my nose but then into my brain. It was the smell of spring wanting to break through. Immediately I was brought to my farm in Virginia and a park near my house called Rock Creek Park. I smile, even though the french don't like it, screw them and there rules for now. I feel like I'm walking through the woods in Virginia on a brisk day, it is a great feeling. I continue to walk around with no route, just the goal of hitting each part of the park. This smell follows me. 

I make my way down to the pond. I see all the different birds and ducks, and start to count them. Suddenly I think about taking up bird watching, but then realize no. 

All the different birds floating around and chilling out on bushy areas around and in the pond brings me to another place. I am now transported to summer at my house in Marthas Vineyard and our pond, a pond that also has many different ducks and birds, swans (if thats not a duck) coexisting. It is reminding me of sitting and watching the pond for hours at times, the image of the moon hitting it, its like I'm there. This walk is now becoming one filled of memories, in the best way though. 

I walk on for another hour, clearing my head, realizing things that need to be realized, only because of the setting. I was not able to do this on other walks, but this one I was. I love walking but never knew that what I needed more often was nature walks, even though this is not a great representation of such. 

I see many dogs, all of which I want. I continue to see many birds. I see people on a hill doing tai chi, I see a man working out with his dog watching. I even see a cat on a leash. I stumble upon a more woodsy looking area which I love, again I am brought back to Virginia. I miss it now more than ever. 

I also start to notice the trees and how they are feeding into this as well. Many people talk about smells bringing them to places in their memory, upon my walk the trees and plants really helped bring me other places. I do not know trees or plants names but there were few that brought me back to my driveway in VA and backyard at my house. Even though I usually hate this big bush/plant  thing in my backyard thathas eaten every ball from baseball to lacrosse to tennis ball in the world, I miss it all the sudden. 

The rain that went on and off never bothered me, even though it usually would, for once it was very pleasant, and when it stopped each time, sun would perk out for a little. I didn't care that it was fake, it is still beautiful and that goes for many parks, central park especially. This walk cleared my mind, may not to the degree of Thoreau, but it did it a good service. The downside is I miss certain things back home more now, things I don't usually appreciate, yet the upside is that, the fact that I appreciate them. I need to find more parks like this or better. Maybe the authentic spirituality of nature lacks from an artificial park like this, but that does not mean I can't be better than that and find a way to pull out some kind of realization from it. As a human, the least we can do is appreciate what nature is here. Like Matthew Mcconaughey said "gratitude reciprocates"