Silhouette of a person walking along a ridge with clouds in the background

My Mind Only Works With My Legs

Walking aids thinking

Headshot of Ryan Wentzel
By Ryan Wentzel
June 13, 2024

Jean-Jacques Rousseau recognized a connection, at least in his own case, between cognition and locomotion:

I can only meditate when I am walking. When I stop, I cease to think; my mind only works with my legs.

— Jean-Jacques Rousseau in The Confessions (Harmondsworth, England: Penguin Books, 1953), 382.

Ryan serves as a pastor at Grace Bible Church. His ministry ranges from preaching, teaching, and writing, to listening, being present, and walking with others through some of life’s most difficult experiences.

He lives with his wife and children in Escondido, California.

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