Standing at walk 25, looking back at the distance covered and forward to the path ahead, I find myself both humbled and amazed by the evolution of this project and even more so by the expansion of my thinking.
This isn’t just about completing a goal or accumulating miles. The second 25 walks represent a deepening of everything I’ve learned so far. The first half taught me to show up, to put one foot in front of another even when I felt lost. Each story invited me to walk with greater awareness, to truly inhabit each step. When I offered trust, I found authenticity.
The art of listening has perhaps been my greatest teacher. Not just hearing stories, but absorbing the subtle meanings beneath them. Listening to others without the urgent need to respond, advise, warn or relate it back to myself. Listening to the world around me – the rhythmic conversation of footsteps, breath, wind and passing cars that provide a soundtrack of presence.
And through this listening comes the most transformative lesson: people just want to be seen and loved. Not the easy, conditional love that comes naturally, but the intentional love and seeing that requires practice. The kind that sees beyond differences, and extends grace when it’s difficult. I take the responsibility as an honor to carry their hearts as I write their stories. You would understand if I let you hear some of the responses I get when a walker approves the piece.
Let’s be honest, there is a lot left on the cutting room floor. You don’t hear all of the stories or all of the cussing. You don’t have any idea how often I have to re-record because Finley is my not-always-so-calm constant companion. You don’t capture my anxiety at the start of almost every walk because the mics don’t work. You miss my ineptitude at taking selfies – or remembering to take the picture horizontally. You also might miss that I have started walking on different paths – place-based listening, as I like to call it. Of course, I walked in an airport for The Oxygen Mask …or the Celtics practice facility with Ashley Battle …or the streets of Bellaire, OH with Jeff Hoepfner …and the alligator path for Listen with Rick Poalina. Otherwise, I’d have a mental ranking of whose lawn needed intervention, who got a new dog, or who gets the most packages delivered. Instead it increases my presence as I walk in a place that matters to the story or the person telling it. I love that this is an imperfect project from which we keep learning.
As I lace up for the next 25 walks, know that this second half isn’t just a repetition of the first. It’s an invitation to go deeper, to listen more intentionally, to love more completely. I hope you have realized that there is something to gain from every walk – a chance to learn something new – even if you do not know the person by my side. Every story matters.
Liz Hofreuter
Founder GEN-Ed
Not your typical researcher or consultant, Liz connects lived experience to transformative leadership. To uncomplicate leadership and education, every story matters and she is just getting started.
