Perambulating together forces you to lock in step, moving at the same speed, pacing at the same energy level. You align yourself right and left, or first and second when single filing. You form a rhythm of motion. This behavior adaptation is called cooperation. And what’s the key to relationships, if not cooperation?
You feel like a twosome. People say, “Here come the Scotts.” Or, “Look who’s policing the area.” It fosters a couples mentality. So when problems arise, you cope with the situation instead of throwing up your hands. You do that because, even when annoyed with your partner, an inner voice says: “You are the walkers. The walkers keep on trucking.”
Traipsing gets you out and about, and that prompts you to see life more philosophically. After all, didn’t Socrates come up with his brilliant musings while rambling with acolytes? Through the windows, you see people inside their homes, washing the dishes, watching TV, talking on the phone. You realize, whether in chateau or shack, all couples have their way of getting through the days and nights. I think about some of our own patterns – reading at dinner, playing Ping-Pong after, standing by the picture window before we go to bed and looking out – and wonder how other twosomes passing by outside might view our behavior.
By walking together, you’re regularly reminded of a major life lesson – that everyone has problems. The guy at the corner spends so much time in his yard smoking cigars because he lost his job. The wealthy family didn’t head south this year because she contracted a rare blood disease. The wife of the ideal couple is having an affair. Through the window, you sometimes hear voices raised in anger and then remember the many fights the two of you had, now so buried that you can’t recall what they were about. It puts matters in perspective.
