The phrase solvitur ambulando comes from the early world of philosophy, where it meant that some arguments could not be settled in theory, only tested in practice — by getting up and moving. Over time it has come to name a deeper human truth: that walking changes how we think, pray, and endure. The body leads, and the mind follows.
Today we might walk not to arrive at answers, but to give questions room. The path, the journey itself becomes a kind of wisdom.
Bible verse
Luke 24:15 (NRSV)
“While they were talking and discussing, Jesus himself came near and went with them.”
Reflection
Faith often unfolds sideways. Not in moments of certainty, but in motion — when we are doing something ordinary and honest, like walking and talking. The disciples walking on the Emmaus road, just after their teacher Jesus has been crucified are not seeking revelation; they are processing disappointment. And it is there, as they walk, in their movement and their muddle, that Christ chooses to join them.
Walking frees us from the illusion that everything must be resolved immediately. It gives time back to God. Step by step, breath by breath, meaning emerges without being forced. We may not recognise it at the time, but later — often much later — we realise that something was quietly healed, shifted, or held.
The landscape around Rydal Hall understands this. The ground has carried many such journeys. Today we add our own, trusting that walking is not an escape from life, but one way God walks us more deeply into it.
Prayers
Setting out
God of the open road,
as we begin this walk,
loosen what we are gripping too tightly.
Let our bodies teach us patience,
and our steps become prayer.
Amen.
On the way
Christ who walks beside us,
stay with us in conversation and silence,
in clarity and confusion.
May what needs to surface do so gently,
in your time, not ours.
Amen.
Returning
Spirit of God,
gather what this walk has given.
If we have not found answers,
give us trust.
If we have found joy,
teach us how to carry it home.
Amen.
