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Be Walking with Nicky

Be Walking with Nicky

By: A podcast for the lone walker who just wants to hear the voice of a friend or something calming to listen to in a world of busy thoughts about being human when the instruction manual never arrived
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Walk somewhere. Think about something. See it differently. A walking podcast about life, identity, change, relationships, community and the things we usually don't have time to think about. I want anyone who thinks walking is hard for them to listen and just ▶ Start walking Nobody knows what they are doing. So, we are all just figuring it out. This is about the messy funny and mad business of being human.This isn't really a podcast about walking. Walking is just how we get somewhere. While we're getting there, we'll talk about the things we normally don't have time to talk about.

spirandiombrevtre.substack.comNicole Wallace Philosophy Science Social Sciences
Episodes
  • Episode 2 : Good or bad it's hard to say

    Episode 2 : Good or bad it's hard to say
    Sep 26 2026
    Thanks for reading Spirandi Ombrevôtre! This post is public so feel free to share it.Spirandi Ombrevôtre is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.Good or Bad, It’s Hard to SayThere are things we become very good at without ever deciding that we wanted them.This is an awkward discovery to make.Nobody had forced me, exactly. There had been no sinister figure standing behind me, moving the pieces of my life across some enormous board. No Matrix. Nothing so dramatic.It was much quieter than that.People had simply been talking.When I was young, they told me what a good life looked like. Do well at school. Get a proper job. Make sensible choices. Find someone nice. Buy a house. Have children. Work hard.The instructions were not unreasonable.That was the difficulty.They were good instructions, mostly. Respectable ones. The kind that made adults nod approvingly.And so I followed them.I became good at things.I became useful.I became independent.I became, in the eyes of the world, an adult.And then, somewhere along the way, I discovered something nobody had mentioned.Everyone was improvising.Some people were simply improvising with better stationery.I found this strangely comforting.Because I had spent years imagining that adulthood was the point at which you finally knew what you were doing. You arrived at a certain age and the fog lifted. You understood money and marriage and work and children and yourself.But the fog doesn't lift.You just learn to walk through it while carrying a handbag.And lately I have been wondering about the things I call ambition.How much of it belongs to me?Ambition does not appear from nowhere. It has a history. Someone praised you for something. Someone else told you what was realistic. Someone laughed at an idea. Someone you loved believed something about the world, and because you loved them, you carried it with you.Eventually you forget who said what.You simply call it me.I have begun to wonder about that.Who decided what was respectable for me?Who decided what was possible?Who decided what sort of woman I was supposed to become?And, more importantly, which of those decisions did I actually make?I think this is partly why I became interested in coaching.Not because I have discovered the answers.Quite the opposite.I like giving people room to discover their own questions.Someone might say, “I want a promotion.”Fine.But what does the promotion mean?Money?Security?Recognition?Escape?Perhaps they are frightened about money. Perhaps they have spent years feeling that they are one unexpected bill away from vulnerability. Perhaps what they call ambition is actually a desire to feel safe.The promotion is only the door.There is something behind it.A good question opens the door.And once you begin asking these questions, identities become less solid.Manager.Mother.Creative.Entrepreneur.Good daughter.Successful woman.The person who always copes.You begin to wonder who made these categories, and when you entered them, and whether you remember agreeing to stay.There is something dangerous about this kind of thinking.It can change your life.Not dramatically, necessarily.Sometimes it is much quieter.You stop explaining yourself.You make the thing.You take yourself seriously.You admit, perhaps for the first time:I actually want this.Or the more frightening sentence:I actually don't want this.That second one can be harder.Because what happens when nobody is watching?If nobody saw the house, would you still want it?If nobody knew about the holiday, would you still go?If nobody congratulated you on the money, would the money still matter?If nobody thought you were impressive, what would remain?I don't think we should become suspicious of every desire we have. That would be exhausting. There are a million thoughts passing through a human mind, and sometimes you just like the shoes.You buy the shoes.You wear them.Life continues.But there are some desires worth sitting beside for a while.Not judging them.Not deciding whether they are good or bad.Just looking at them.Turning them over.Peeling them back, layer by layer.Perhaps you discover that what you really want is freedom.Then another question appears.What else could give me freedom?Perhaps you discover that you are exhausted.Perhaps the thing you thought you wanted was simply the thing you thought would finally make the exhaustion stop.Perhaps you don't know yet.And perhaps I don't know yet is a perfectly respectable answer.I think about the things I believed at twenty.Some were unfair.Some were inherited.Some belonged to people I loved.Some were based on what I had actually experienced.And some, strangely enough, were mine.I am interested in knowing the difference.Not because I want to dismantle my entire life.I don't.I simply want to know which parts of it I chose.What do I say I want?And why?There is something liberating about not knowing the answer ...
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    7 mins
  • Episode 1.2: We’re not walking for fitness sake

    Episode 1.2: We’re not walking for fitness sake
    Sep 25 2026
    Contents00:00 | Walking Is Not Fitness I challenge the modern obsession with walking as exercise, arguing that walking is less about fitness and more about presence.01:10 | When Everything Becomes a Performance From runs to gym sessions to daily walks, we’ve turned ordinary human activities into metrics, targets and achievements.02:15 | The Problem with 10,000 Steps A humorous look at how arbitrary numbers have transformed simple movement into a daily box-ticking exercise.03:10 | The Lost Art of Noticing Walking allows us to reconnect with our surroundings, seeing the details, characters and quirks of everyday life that would otherwise go unnoticed.04:20 | Walking Is Life Walking is not something humans invented for health benefits. It’s simply what humans do. We walk to think, connect, travel, process and live.05:00 | The 4,000 Angry Steps Walking as emotional regulation. The universal experience of pacing, stomping and striding through frustration rather than saying something you’ll regret.05:50 | It’s Never Too Late A reflection on ageing, movement and the misconception that if fitness wasn’t prioritised earlier in life, there’s little point starting now.07:10 | The Anti-Fitness Walk No pace. No targets. No guilt. No optimisation. Just permission to walk in whatever way feels right.08:15 | The Wellness Culture Trap How the self-improvement industry can leave us feeling perpetually unfinished and constantly in need of fixing.09:05 | Maybe You Don’t Need Fixing A powerful reminder that sometimes the answer isn’t another programme, challenge or productivity hack. Sometimes it’s a walk and some fresh air.10:00 | Presence Is Enough The achievement is not the step count. The achievement is that you showed up, experienced something and were present.10:35 | Final Thoughts Walking doesn’t need justification. Sometimes walking is simply walking, and that’s enough.The IdeaWe’ve mistaken walking for exercise.Not because walking can’t improve health.But because we’ve become so obsessed with measuring outcomes that we’ve forgotten how to experience the act itself.This episode argues that walking isn’t primarily about burning calories, tracking progress or reaching a target.It’s about being present.What’s Really Going On?Modern culture struggles with things that don’t produce measurable results.If we run, we want the pace.If we train, we want the numbers.If we walk, we want the steps.What was once a natural part of being human has become another performance metric.The irony?The more we focus on measuring the walk, the less likely we are to experience it.Three Ideas Worth Thinking About1. Presence Cannot Be MeasuredThe most valuable part of a walk might not be the distance covered.It’s noticing.The neighbour’s eccentric garden ornament.The smell of dinner from an open window.The dog enthusiastically dragging its owner down the street.These small moments remind us that we’re participating in life rather than rushing through it.2. Movement Doesn’t Need a JustificationNot every walk has to improve something.You don’t have to earn your walk.You don’t need a fitness goal.You don’t need to optimise the experience.Sometimes movement is enough.3. You Can Start Where You AreMany people believe they missed their chance to be active.I challenge this idea directly.Whether you’re 30, 50, 70 or older, movement continues to matter.The best time to start may have passed.The second-best time is now.The Anti-Fitness Walk Manifesto* Walk slowly.* Walk quickly.* Stop for coffee.* Get distracted.* Take the long route.* Turn around halfway.* Look at things.* Think about nothing.Most importantly:Don’t turn it into another thing to succeed or fail at.Memorable Quotes“Walking is not fitness. It’s presence.”“You don’t need fixing. Just some fresh air.”“Walking is life.”“Sometimes walking is just walking.”What This Episode Is Really AboutOn the surface, this episode is about walking.Underneath, it’s about permission.Permission to stop optimising.Permission to stop measuring.Permission to stop treating yourself like a project.And permission to remember that being human doesn’t always require an improvement plan.Reflection QuestionWhat would change if, for one walk this week, you left the targets behind and simply paid attention to where your feet were taking you?The value of a walk isn’t found in the distance you cover, but in your willingness to be fully present while taking it. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit spirandiombrevtre.substack.com/subscribe
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    11 mins
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