Trail of ideas

'We do not belong to those who have ideas only among books, when stimulated by books. It is our habit to think outdoors — walking, leaping, climbing, dancing, preferably on lonely mountains or near the sea where even the trails become thoughtful.' So wrote Friedrich Nietzsche (1844-1900), who made walking a centerpiece of his philosophy.  And so, too, we can consider the idea as an element of thought in transit, and ideation as a journey that manifests itself in walking, or, "taking an idea for a walk". Walking is, of course, practically and physically beneficial too, but also, as free movement, closely related to creative thought. Indeed, ideation has its own immediate reward and no surprise then that ideators never sit still for long experiencing walking as creative empowerment. Letting one’s thoughts wander, thinking on one’s feet, adapting as one goes along - these are no simple figures of speech but reflect mental and sensory openness. Walking, then, leads to places of discovery - a trail of ideas.