By Jen Vogt-Erickson, Paths to Peace

Imagine for a moment that we do not have automobiles. Our community is laid out in a way that we can get to any place we need to using bicycles, public transportation or our own two feet.

Even if this were so, could you imagine giving up your car, truck or SUV? In reality, our love affair with automobiles has become an utter state of dependency. We have built our cities to accommodate them, and in the process we have made it difficult to get where we need to go in any other way.

This has created a number of problems: We do not get enough exercise, we are consuming fossil fuels in greater quantities every year, and we are more isolated from others around us as we cruise around in our enclosed metal and glass vessels.

It is possible to buck this trend, and many already do. It is wonderful to see the people around Albert Lea who are walking and biking on a regular basis already.

Thousands more, though, could join their ranks! A good place to start is the pedestrian/bike paths that Albert Lea has to offer. On most summer mornings at the Blazing Star Trail, the parking lot is busy. Of course, that means many people had to drive there, but once out on the trail they reap the benefits of fresh air, beautiful scenery, and hearty hellos with the people they meet. It is the happening place to be.

From there it is also a nice jaunt out to the Myre- Big Island State Park by bike, and it will be awesome when the bike path connects all the way to Austin.

There are lots of people who walk, bike and run around Fountain Lake, too. There are a couple of people who I have seen picking up litter as they walk around it, keeping the scenery beautiful.

I hope you will take the opportunity to wholly appreciate the lake by walking around it if you have not already done so. There is no way to get this experience while zipping around it in a car, even a convertible. To fully hear the water splashing, smell the fresh air, or feel the breezes wafting off the lake, one has to get out of their car.

There is ample parking space for automobiles around, but kudos to the people who choose alternatives to driving when they run errands or commute to work.

I have not totally weaned myself from commuting by car yet, but I frequently walk or bike to work.

It is 3.6 miles one way and takes 50 minutes to walk in the morning. If I walk, I call my husband for a ride home in the afternoon. (I am crossing my fingers that he never says no.) It is the same mileage but saves some gas in the winter because we do not have to warm the car up twice.

When I ride my bike, the trip takes 20 minutes each way, which is a shorter commute than some of my car-bound coworkers have.

When we buy a house, we are planning to find one within two miles of my work so that I can walk or bike every day.

This routine always gives me more mental clarity and built-in physical exercise than I get when driving my car. It is also an exercise in freedom from oil dependency, and it does not create greenhouse gases that contribute to global warming.

A final way that walking and biking is positive is that it helps people to feel like a part of the neighborhood they live in.

I meet lots of kids on the sidewalks and many adults, too, especially people walking their dogs. It is a good way to meet people and be a familiar presence.

When I lived in the Willy Street neighborhood of Madison, Wis., I used to meet dozens of people on sidewalks every day. It was a wonderfully diverse, mixed-income, vibrant place. There was so much interaction that it really lived up to its name: neighborhood. It felt safe, friendly and abundantly alive &8212; all key to quality of life.

What it really comes down to is that walking and biking are ways to bring peace into our lives. It can bring us more equilibrium with our bodies, serenity in our minds, freedom from consuming as much oil (which creates international conflicts), harmony with the environment and well-being in our neighborhoods. So, I look forward to meeting you out on the sidewalks and trails, Albert Lea!

Albert Lea resident Jen Vogt-Erickson is a member of Paths to Peace.