I should let the club know I have a vice. And it’s a weakness for bookshops and books.
And while I was there recently in a bookshop, I noticed there was a book entitled The Philosophy of Walking. And being who I am I thought, what next, A Philosophy of Sitting, A Philosophy of Standing.
But walking can be significant for many reasons. But many years ago, I happened to be in Boston, I did a professional development course. And the instructor teaching about conflict mediation used his experience of being part of the team to negotiate a peace deal with Yassar Arafat, Israel and a pathway to a two state solution. A walk turned out to be significant.
A couple of mediators took a break and had a walk together around the park lands of Camp David. And they came to a different place philosophically on the walk. They developed a framework to work out a peace deal.
So, one of our key functions as Rotary is to promote peace and walking together can promote this So have a walk in the park, have a walk in Melbourne’s gardens and for these I am grateful.
Thank you Philip Cornish.
