Going for walks is a different experience during the coronavirus pandemic. Beforehand, it was something I did on the days when I didn’t quite feel up to going to the gym. Now I use walks as replacements for gym workouts because shared indoor spaces have become dangerous. Last summer, I would keep the socially normal distance while passing people on a trail, but not stray so far as to avoid catching a little of their conversations and a piece of their lives. But now I walk in wide circles and even choose alternate routes to avoid crowds. Children especially, usually the most joyful people to watch, I keep away from, thinking of packed schools and how unnatural it is for a child to stay isolated.

Apart from exercise, the main benefit I get from going for walks is experiencing different surroundings. The perspective I get, from seeing the world move in ways that have nothing to do with me, has not changed. One of my favorite walks is Ashley Reservoir in Holyoke which has beautiful raised paths that cut through the water. I would estimate that I pass a hundred people every time I walk the trail and it can feel like a high-stakes maze at times. But unlike a trip to the grocery store, I always come out of this walk feeling better than I did going in. I have always known that exploring nature is good for us, but now the open sky and billows of moving air feel like a safe haven compared to the indoors.

Walking has become the primary way I socialize with people during the pandemic, replacing options like going out to eat, shopping, and bowling. My social life used to include going for drinks and buying branded clothing at malls, whereas it now prompts discussions and thinking. There are things I miss about how life was before. Large social gatherings come to mind, like a house party or a music festival. But the unplanned, widespread shift to taking walks is an effect of the pandemic that I am on board with.