海角大神

More than eight months into the pandemic in the United States, many local, state, and federal guidelines can still appear random. Public confidence is crucial to cooperation.

For many Hondurans, trust in the government聽has been waning for years. So after back-to-back hurricanes, they鈥檙e looking to each other for support.

As the first Black Canadian to lead a federal party,聽Annamie Paul is changing ideas about what a political leader can look like. Next up: changing who can see themselves in her party鈥檚 platform.

Time can seem frozen in rural Mississippi, but for one church, a celebration of its 150th anniversary became living testimony to the power of a community to stand firm amid many storms.聽聽

Beyond its exhilarating chess scenes, the popular drama 鈥淭he Queen鈥檚 Gambit鈥� asks an important question, says reviewer Stephen Humphries: How much sacrifice is success worth?

It鈥檚 easy to think of spring as ideal for walking. In the Northern Hemisphere, where people are preparing for winter and awaiting the end of the pandemic, it may be time to go outside in the sunlight. A late fall trek has its own rewards.

In her book 鈥淧ersuasion,鈥� Jane Austen writes of 鈥渢he tawny leaves and withered hedges鈥� of the autumn season that draw 鈥渇rom every poet, worthy of being read, some attempt at description, or some lines of feeling.鈥�

All kinds of outdoor activities, from camping to bicycling to mountain climbing, have proved popular with folks stuck inside for months. But none is so universal and available as walking, just putting one foot in front of the other as far as one wants to go. No special equipment is needed, beyond comfortable shoes.

Walking is as much a mental as a physical activity. 鈥淚 know of no thought so burdensome that one cannot walk away from it,鈥� wrote Danish philosopher S酶ren Kierkegaard. Great walks can yield great aha! moments or, at the least, a better sense of well-being.

In the United States, the rails-to-trails movement is just one effort to provide safe and even scenic places to walk. Many abandoned tracks have been turned into well-trod recreational assets. The Rails-to-Trails Conservancy counts 2,209 such trails that equal the circumference of the Earth. A report in July estimated trail use was 79% higher than in 2019.

In Britain, a project is underway to make sure historic walking paths don鈥檛 disappear. By poring over old maps, volunteers have discovered nearly 50,000 miles of footpaths that have disappeared from modern maps. That鈥檚 important because a law passed a few years ago imposes a deadline of 2026 to add the paths to official maps or the public will lose a right to walk them.

鈥淚t鈥檚 a race against time to save these paths that may have been there for hundreds if not thousands of years,鈥� Jack Cornish, who heads the lost paths campaign for a charity called The Ramblers, told Reuters.

The rediscovered paths will add to a network of 140,000 miles of existing paths in England and Wales. Writer Virginia Woolf describes a rediscovered path in her diaries as one of her favorite walks. Others may have been in use as long as thousands of years ago, such as during the occupation of England by ancient Rome.

鈥淔or me, these paths are a part of our heritage as much as a big cathedral,鈥� Mr. Cornish says.

Vehicle-free paths can serve many practical purposes. While some people walk, others ride a bicycle or jog in search of serious exercise. They measure their progress with Fitbits or similar tracking devices. Others seek a safe place to walk the dog or push a baby stroller. In some cases, trails are a car-free route to work or school.

For many walkers, the greatest gift is a chance to stretch both limbs and thinking. Old paths and new thoughts can make great companions.