Читать книгу Down to the River and Up to the Trees: Discover the hidden nature on your doorstep - Sue Belfrage - Страница 26

The Aboriginal people of Australia navigate their land through age-old songlines or dreaming tracks, mythological paths whose sacred landmarks are recorded in song. This means that if you know the rhythm of the song, you know the land. While not the same thing, Alfred Watkins came up with the term ‘ley line’ in 1921 to describe the straight tracks that supposedly link ancient sites in Britain. These ley lines, in turn, came to be associated with mystical energy pathways.

Pilgrims, of course, walk to their holy destinations. Is there perhaps a quality about walking itself that invokes a sense of the sacred, with the rhythm of the feet, the thumping of the heart, the looseness of the limbs?

Create a connected walk of your own. Choose two spots some distance apart that appeal or seem significant to you in some way. Walk between them in as straight a line as you can, while keeping to permitted rights of way. Make a mental note on your journey of what you see and any landmarks along the way. Listen to your footsteps. Perhaps you will be inspired to craft a song of your own?