How to escape routine without changing your lifestyle.

From may 19th to june 19th, Sébastien de Fooz (author of bestseller On foot to Jerusalem) will walk for a month in Brussels without returning home. He will have no planned itinerary or places to stay and he will be traveling with little means. Throughout this journey, he will adopt an attitude of empathy and kindness in order to see how they affect his relationship to others. Sébastien will observe where this attitude in an urban context leads him. How does it affect his relationship with others? How does it affect how he feels inside? How does it affect his attitude in situations of fear? He will be sharing his experience on a blog as well as through a documentary at a later stage.

You can follow his BLOG-live (in French/Dutch/some English translations)

More than years ago, I walked from my hometown Ghent to Jerusalem. During those 6 months where I covered about 5000 km, I met many people who enabled me (beyond all boarders) to progress slowly but surely towards my destination. During this journey, my survival depended on my encounters, and they depended on my state of mind and my ability to be open minded when faced with the unknown. As I progressed I realized that the landscapes crossed evoked interior landscapes. There were two adventures happening in parallel; one on the outside and the other inside.

Thirteen years later, I have decided to start a new page to further my exploration of the unknown. Each trip unveils numerous mysteries. I now want to dig deeper into a familiar environment and share what I discover when I take the time to explore it.

I would like to dive into the routine aspects of life in a city, to explore the everyday in order to discover simple methods of changing one’s perspective and state of mind without necessarily changing lifestyle or leaving to faraway places.

I'm going to walk in my own city -Brussels- for a month without going home to my family and without my phone. I will not have a planned itinerary, or accommodation (so I won’t be ringing friends doorbells).
I experienced the absurd routine of an urban professional life. A form of solitude and non-sense. The noise, the urban aggressivity, the fractures between people and their neighbourhoods, traffic congestion, repetition and my absence of interest or curiosity for the world around me, as I was totally absorbed by my own routine.

On May 19th, I will leave my house. Will I go left or right? Will I walk towards the north or the south?This almost absurd journey is a reflection of what our frenetic life can contain. The only destination that I will set for myself will be the meeting of those who cross my path.The change of perspective and what it leads to will be shared on my blog and via the social networks. The only set points I will have are to be kind and empathetic with each and every person I meet. From Molenbeek to Uccle, from Neder-over-Heembeek to Boitsfort.

After this urban expedition, I would like to put together a documentary that will retrace my journey, the people I met the various state of minds I went through.

Urban Expedition