These days my walks are very often in the name of peace.
Western Harbour, Edinburgh. March 2026 Sunrise Walks #walkbst #walkingartistsnetwork #blakemorris
I walk with the awareness that I am free to walk at sunrise without having to carry my worldly goods with me, and because I am lucky enough not to be escaping war and persecution. I walk for the freedom to walk in healthy environments, as recently housing developers have been cutting down our local woodland, and politicians have been voting to build on our beautiful 'self-willed' wetlands * Sometimes I am walking for my own peace of body and mind, or for that of friends and family.
Self-willed wetlands in danger of being built on at Western Harbour, Edinburgh March 2026
I walk alone every day, but also with groups of others who are walking collectively for peace. We believe that silent walking, with care and attention, sends a message that says, 'We use our precious time to do this as we notice many people are unable to live peaceful lives due to the actions of others, ourselves, or the evolving results of climate change.' Walking in this way creates a quiet and mindful energy. It pushes aside the busier hours so that we can pay attention to what is happening in areas of conflict and trouble, inside ourselves, or externally.
Peace walking at the Botanic Gardens, Edinburgh March 2026. Although upside down and back-to-front, it’s possible to make out the ‘P’, ‘C’ and ‘E’ in the digital tracings of my walks made on the app Komoot
The Walking Body 2026 approaches walking as "a fragile commons of freedom - a condition that must be continuously renegotiated through practices of attention and solidarity." Geert Vermeire from Belgium is a poet, artist, curator, and cultural producer with a nomadic practice. As part of a meeting that is taking place in Guimaraes in Portugal, he proposed a collective act of spatial writing, tracing the letters of the word PEACE.
Above left: The lawn at the Botanic Gardens, grass-green ‘paper’ on which I wrote PEACE with my feet - you can just about see the traces. Right: Anemonies
I walked in the Botanic Gardens in Edinburgh at 2.30pm on 23rd March, after the Artist as Advocate final meeting of the Spring series. I walked the words PEACE on my own, without announcement, and in silence. As my footsteps mapped the word several times on top of grass and between trees, I embodied the concept, filled my cells with the feeling of peace. I was watched by curious others, and hoped that the atmosphere created by my actions could perhaps be felt by them or by the other growing beings in the vicinity.
There is an upcoming Peace Walk jointly organised by the Edinburgh International Centre for Spirituality and Peace and the Edinburgh Sangha of the Community of Interbeing, also at the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh, starting at the John Hope Gateway, Arboretum Place, Edinburgh, EH3 5NZ on Sunday 29 March 2026. Assemble at the West Gate entrance to the John Hope Gateway, Arboretum Place at 10am for a 10.15am-11.15am walk.
"This silent walking meditation is an open event led by the lay members of the Edinburgh Sangha of the Community of Interbeing who follow the practice and teachings of Zen Buddhist Master, Thich Nhat Hanh.”
We have walked together at the Botanic Gardens many times before, as we have in other places in the city - The Meadows, and Saughton Park, for example, which is not far from the Men's Prison.
the phrase ‘self-willed wetlands’ refers to the campaign to save the Western Harbour Ponds which has recently suffered a major setback.
The roses in the header of this blog were photographed at Saughton Park, Edinburgh.