Patrick Suskind
:: the Pigeon
... Jonathan Noel came to the conclusion that you cannot depend on people, and that you can live in peace only if you keep them at arm's length.
He was not a man of action. He was a man of resignation.
Walking soothes. There is a healing power in walking. The regular placement of one foot in front of the other while at the same time rowing rhythmically with the arms, the rising rate of respiration, the slight stimulation of the pulse, the actions required of eye and ear for determining direction and maintaining balance, the feeling of the passing air brushing against the skin - all these are events that mass about the body and mind in a quite irresistable fashion and allow the soul, be it ever so atrophied and bruised, to grow and expand.