By Nancy Hauswald
How being a flâneur can give you the energy to do more
“I find it wholesome to be alone the greater part of the time. To be in company, even with the best, is soon wearisome and dissipating. I love to be alone. I never found a companion that was so companionable as solitude.”
― Henry David Thoreau, Walden
I wonder how Mr. Thoreau—who famously said he had three chairs in his house (“one for solitude, two for friendship, three for society”)—would fare if he were suddenly catapulted in the year 2020. Instead of concentrating on the sound of loons crying on Walden Pond, he’d likely be crying as his ears were assaulted by shrill and annoying ringtones and the pings of text and email alerts.
I feel your pain, Mr. Thoreau. There are days when the non-stop babble of our lives threatens me to the point of despair. And I’m not talking just about the beeping electronic devices that permeate our every waking (and sometimes sleeping) hour. On more days than I’d like to admit, I find the relentless, never-ending demands on my time by colleagues, friends (well-meaning and otherwise), family, and even strangers drive me perilously close to the tipping point.
For me, there’s only one way to keep my sanity in this sometimes insane world. It’s taking a daily walk by myself. No earbuds. No cell phone. Nothing except me and my brain, and the precious gift of time to think, daydream, ponder, and wonder. The simple act of walking alone feeds my creativity, inspires me to think outside the box, and gives me the precious gift of freedom to let my thoughts wander.
But let me be clear. I’m not talking about a super-charged, high-powered walk where I’m obsessively striving to get Fit Bit’s stamp-of-approval for achieving 10,000 steps. I’m talking about strolling and sauntering…about perfecting the art of what the French call, so beautifully, “to flâneur.” (Charles Baudelaire is said to have coined the verb ‘flâner’, which means “to stroll” in French.)
To be a successful flâneur, you must have no practical goals in mind. You’re not walking to get somewhere or to get something or to run an errand or to meet someone or…well, you get the idea. You’re walking simply to experience walking. And what an experience it is!
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Walking without purpose sparks creativity, enhances mental health, lessens stress and, often, without your even being aware of it, improves physical health. (I speak from experience. Without trying, I lost 60 pounds in 18 months of being a flâneur. No other exercise at all. Just walking, watching, and wandering, almost always in my own neighborhood.)
The best part of being a flâneur is that there are no rules. If I can only squeeze in 15 minutes a day, that’s fine. Although I aim for an hour-long solitary stroll daily, I don’t beat myself up if I can’t make that happen. That is so not the point of “flâneuring.” Rather, the point is to be outside by yourself and experience your environs alone. Turn down a street you’ve not been on before, just for the fun of seeing where it goes. Eavesdrop on strangers’ conversations. Pause and look—really look—at an architectural element that captures your attention. Linger at a pocket garden to take in the simple beauty of a few seasonal plantings.
Slowly, gradually, you’ll find yourself taking little flâneur breaks throughout the day. Almost without your being aware of it, your sense of awareness will be heightened. You’ll gain a new appreciation for time, for slowing down—even if it’s just for a few minutes. You’ll begin to understand that being busy doesn’t necessarily equate with being successful or happy.
The benefits of spending time alone have long been documented, as have the benefits of walking. Imagine the possibilities when you combine the two! For me, the single most rewarding benefit of walking alone is how it ignites my creative energy. When there’s no one censoring my ideas (“Yes, well, we’ve tried that before and it didn’t work so no, let’s not go there again.”) or my dreams (“You shouldn’t even think about taking a trip to France until you get your credit card bills zeroed out.”), I’m pretty damn creative.
While walking alone, I’ve re-decorated my apartment, drafted a new marketing strategy, composed a letter of apology, and given serious thought to where I want to be, professionally and personally, in two years. After even a short walk alone, with only my thoughts for my companion, I feel an energy that’s difficult to quantify, but it’s there. It translates into a life that’s suddenly packed full of possibilities. And when my soul is happy and energized, I’m better at my work. No doubt about it. I’m open to more fully listening to others, to facing obstacles head on and tackling them with energy and purpose, to thinking outside the box.
So. What have you got to lose if you step away from your life, right now, and take some steps outside, alone? It’s easier than you might think. Just turn your computer screen to “sleep,” put your cell phone down, and kiss the world good-bye for 15 minutes. When you return, it will be with more energy, happiness, and just maybe, a creative spark that lifts you up for the rest of the day. Welcome to the world of flâneuring!
If you’d like to learn more about how to become a flâneur, here are two books I recommend:
~The Art of Flâneuring: How to Wander with Intention and Discover a Better Life (Erika Owen)—A fun and practical guide to cultivating a more mindful and fulfilling everyday life by tapping into your inner flâneur.
~ Flâneur: A Stroll Through the Paradoxes of Paris (Edmund White)—White, who lived in Paris for 16 years, wanders through the streets and avenues and along the quays, into parts of Paris virtually unknown to visitors and indeed to many Parisians.
Nancy Hauswald is a writer, editor, and publicist for an independent bookstore in midcoast Maine.
