A Wisdom Walk from Marston Doles to Napton-on-the-Hill
Walking Slow Enough for the Soul to Catch Up
There’s something about the rhythm of the feet on a towpath that unlocks the mind. Today’s wisdom walk wasn’t just about getting my steps in after a morning glued to the screen. It was about working through the soul of what I’m building here.
The afternoon sun was warm on my back as I followed the canal from Marston Doles toward Napton-on-the-Hill. My phone buzzed with notifications, and my watch reminded me I was still shy of my daily movement goals, but none of that mattered. What mattered was the conversation happening between my walking self and my thinking self.
The Brand Revelation
I’d been wrestling with four different bio options for the Barefoot Philosopher rebrand. You know how it is; you can stare at words on a screen until they lose all meaning. But put one foot in front of the other, let the mind wander while the ducks paddle alongside, and suddenly clarity emerges.
“Barefoot philosopher helping contemplative rebels find wisdom in everyday moments.”
That’s it. That’s the line.
Not “intelligent misfits”; I feel like that’s too exclusive, too academic. I also don’t want to limit myself to “ancient wisdom”; that’s too narrow, despite my love for Marcus Aurelius and Seneca. The magic happens in those everyday moments. Like right now, walking this towpath, working through the very essence of what wisdom means in motion.
Ancient Philosophy Meets Morning Coffee
The second line came easier after that: “I blend ancient wisdom with modern insights for a soul-led life.”
But here’s where it gets interesting: that phrase I’d been playing with, “ancient philosophy meets morning coffee,” suddenly revealed itself not as a bio line but as something bigger. It felt like a podcast waiting to be born. Can you picture it? Recording from actual coffee houses, maybe finding a co-host who shares the vision, and bringing those contemplative moments to life in real conversation.
The Barefoot Wisdom Cafe isn’t just a concept; it’s a practice. It’s the morning coffee contemplations, those stolen moments of reflection between the chaos. You don’t need to carve out massive chunks of time for wisdom. Sometimes it’s just grabbing a coffee and having a think.
The Mobile Warrior’s Epiphany
Somewhere between the duck family (mama with nine little ones—what a sight) and the impromptu concert from a fellow traveller, it hit me: this is how real work gets done. Not chained to a desk, but moving through the world, processing ideas in motion.
The irony wasn’t lost on me that I was solving my bio problem while literally embodying the solution of walking slow enough for the soul to catch up.
Random Encounters, Real Conversations
The beauty of this mobile approach isn’t just the thinking space; it’s the human connections that happen when you’re present in the world. A canal boat crew six hours into their journey from Hayford to Cosgrove. A quick exchange about the lovely weather, about needing fresh air after screen time. Real conversation with strangers instead of just text messages with strangers.
That’s the difference between living behind screens and living in the world. Both have their place, but the balance matters.
The Wisdom in Walking
As I found my way back through overgrown trails and boundary markers, dodging hungry mosquitoes and losing my lens cap to curious brambles, the third line crystallised: “Walking slow enough for the soul to catch up.”
This isn’t just poetic flourish; it’s a methodology. It’s recognising that our best insights often come not when we’re pushing hard but when we’re moving at the pace of reflection. When we give our deeper selves permission to join the conversation.
The contemplative rebels I want to reach? They already know this. They’re the ones who’ve sensed that there’s more to life than the hustle, more to wisdom than the latest productivity hack. They’re ready for the ancient stuff, yes, but applied to right now, right here, in the everyday moments that actually make up a life.
Building Something Real
By the time I reached my car, I had covered 3.38 miles, solidified my bio decisions, and conceptualised an idea for a new podcast series. I realised I’d done something that couldn’t have happened at my desk. I’d thought with my whole self, not just my head.
The Barefoot Philosopher isn’t just a brand I’m building; it’s a way of being I’m remembering. One foot in the ancient wisdom traditions, one foot in the messy, beautiful reality of modern life. Walking the path between them, slow enough for the soul to catch up.
The X platform might be controversial these days, but it’s still solid for micro-blogging. That’s where this next phase launches. Short reflections, daily wisdom, and the kind of content that meets people in their everyday moments rather than demanding they carve out special time for enlightenment.
Because here’s the thing about contemplative rebels: we don’t need permission to think deeply. We just need reminders that it’s possible, practical, and actually more efficient than the alternatives.
The trail always leads home, but the walking changes everything.
This post was composed during and after a wisdom walk through the Warwickshire countryside. Sometimes the best way to write about walking is to actually walk first.
