436. Solvitur Ambulando

What problems could be solved by going for a walk today?

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Headphones off, computer closed, keys, keys, keys, keys, keys.

If you weren’t my keys, where would you be? I’m Nora McInerny and It’s Going To Be OK. Nope.

And this is or was the sound of me getting up off my butt to go for a walk. Not a big walk, not a strenuous walk, just a walk. I’m actually going to walk to the post office because it’s close by and it’s one of my favorite places.

Yeah, I’m doing this right before the holidays. I know people think it’s a stressful place to be.

I disagree and I have spoken to you enough about my love of the post office that I probably don’t need to repeat myself other than to say I simply love the post office. But I am self-employed.

Nothing is preventing me from getting up and going for a walk in the middle of the day other than I forget that that’s allowed. I forget that as an adult person, I am allowed to stand up and leave my place of work and just take a little walk.

Everybody’s talking about walking right now, and by everybody, I mean me because I’m the only person talking. But walking is excellent for you. I’m no longer a runner.

My knees are like, no, thank you, don’t do that. But I’m a walker and I really like walking. Did you know that bilateral movement like walking is good for your brain?

Of course you did because every time you go for a walk, you feel a little bit better. So let me introduce you to a phrase from Latin, which is the dead language.

But once something is said in Latin, it’s absolutely irrefutably true, mostly because nobody knows what it means, you know? It’s Solvitur Ambulando. Solvitur Ambulando.

It might be Solvitur. I don’t know how to speak Latin. It’s a dead language.

And also, I did not pass it in college. But it’s a Latin phrase, which means it is solved by walking. It’s just a little turn of phrase.

It’s basically like, you know, if something seems really complicated, go for a walk. However, I made the mistake of looking it up. And its roots are in philosophy.

And nothing makes my brain hurt more than philosophy. If my dad were alive, he would be not listening to this podcast, I’ll tell you that much.

And he heard me, one, mispronounce a Latin phrase, and then two, try to explain it to another person when he knows that I don’t know Latin. This man is currently spinning in his grave.

If you are near the VA cemetery in Minneapolis and you hear a whirring sound, that’s my dad being upset about my lack of knowledge about Latin. And why are we talking about this? Because I heard that phrase from my mom, who also doesn’t speak Latin.

So you know what, honestly, dad, take it up with her. And it has become her little go-to phrase. It is solved by walking, go for a walk.

You’ve got something to think over, go for a walk. You’re overwhelmed, go for a walk.

It’s the middle of the day, and actually you do have some packages to mail for the holidays, and you’ve got two legs that work, and the post office is nearby and you like it, go for a walk.

There are a great many issues in our world that feel unsolvable, and honestly might be. For example, long division is something that I can’t solve. Will that be solved by walking?

Who knows? But I can always step away from trying to help a middle schooler with their math homework and go for a walk, and you know what will be fixed? You know what will be solved?

My blood pressure, my anxiety levels. So what will be solved by walking today? I don’t know, but we’re going to try.

So if you’re listening to this, I want you to stand up. If you can, I want you to go outside, and I just want you to walk around the block. Maybe not even around the block.

Go just a few steps, a few steps more. Get outside, move your body, move your arms, that’s important. Bilateral movement, very good for your brains.

The swinging of the arms is what my friend Dr. Anna Roth, a therapist, told me. Got to swing those arms when you’re walking.

There’s something on your mind. You’re stressed, you’re anxious. Go ahead and see if it could be solved by walking.

Off we go. Yay. I’m Nora McInerny.

This is It’s Going To Be OK. I don’t understand Latin, and I think that’s OK. I think it’s OK.

I think that’s OK. If you know the proper way to say that, and you’d like to correct me, if you’re my dead dad spinning in his grave, and you have access for some reason to a phone, the phone number is 612-568-4441.

You can also text that number as well. This episode was produced by Claire McInerny. It was mixed by Amanda Romani.

The rest of our team is Marcel Malekebu, me and Grace Barry. Our theme music is by Secret Audio.