We’re so lucky at Street Wisdom, because we get to work with amazing volunteers who lead Walkshops all over the world, bringing strangers together to share reflections from their wanders. One of those wanderful people is Marshall Opel from Salt Lake City, Utah, who is doing all kinds of incredible. We’re delighted he said yes to hosting this piece he wrote on his concept of Urban Cruise, which resonates so beautifully with Street Wisdom. Take it away Marshall! And Thank You.
Urban Cruise. It’s already happening.
by Marshall Opel
Urban Cruise. A third way to ride.
No Wrong Turns. Awareness is expanded by unlocking zones. If you don’t go, you won’t know.
Be Here Now. Starting from where you are, paying attention to what’s actually happening.
Seek The Sweet Spot. It’s hiding in liminal space.
Low-Angle Lifestyle. So you can ride tomorrow.
Catch Transitions. By letting go of the brakes.
Find The Others. Heyo! Another human, just like me.
Scuttle. Watch your wake.
Are you looking for something? By urban we mean from our doorstep, under our nose. By cruise we mean autotelic- for the sake of it. Urban cruise is a practice of improvisational wandering. It’s creativity expressed through movement. Without a set route, our lines show up in the liminal space that unfolds as we go. Cruising ignites a heightened perceptivity to our immediate environment. It’s a nudge of purposeful aimlessness that opens us up to life’s happenings.
You’ve cruised before. When you were a kid, you went outside and noticed. You were curious, “hey, what’s that over there?!” And if you’re like me, you didn’t stop going out, but your lens for noticing got fogged up. You stopped seeing the magic that’s hidden in the mundane.
Urban cruise is free, but we have to pay for it. We do so with our precious and limited attention. Attention that’s otherwise freely extended to our inner monologue about the way things “ought” to be. The shift here is a practice of persistently bringing a relaxed attention to the world, as it actually is.
Most simply, urban cruise is a way to spend time. It’s an opportunity for doubt and possibility to come together. When we tap in to a cruise mindset, opportunities show up everywhere and inspired curiosity syncopates the beat.
Starting from where we are, the urban interface becomes a canvas for expression and a platform for reconnection. The world comes through our senses and life is enough, just as it is.
So that side street, parking garage or cutty trail leading from the dead end? Go on and check it out. When you’re cruising, there are no wrong turns. Just opportunities for feedback and new understanding.
We bank a subtle left that pulls us into a quick right. We’ve taken momentum. Tension builds and gets released into a long arcing turn. We’ve drawn our Self out and now we’re playing. Participating in the freshness of what’s right here, right now.
When we’re cruising, possibility morphs obstacles into features. And how we respond is up to us. We can unlearn beliefs that don’t serve us. We find that lines are everywhere when we choose to see them. Maya Angalou said “life loves the livers of it.” Others are cruising, you can too.
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Inspired? Fancy some more Street Wisdom? Join a Walkshop near you, or head out for your own wander right now with our Tune Ups. Buy a copy of founder David Pearl’s book Wanderful, all profits go back into Street Wisdom to help keep it free. Share your insights and follow us @StreetWisdom_
