“If not now. When?”
Kevin and I realized the other day that we haven’t spent more than five minutes with a roof over our heads in months now. Seriously, the only time we have been indoors has been to pop in and out of small local shops to buy groceries, a five minute or so affair every day. And that, a life outdoors surrounded entirely by nature is one of the things I love most about this lifestyle.
Now, I do understand that not all of you find this entirely appealing, but never the less, I don’t think I can stress the importance of going outside every single day if only for a few minutes. Being outdoors, surrounded by chirping birds or a rushing river, calms our ever stimulated brains and gives us time to simply be alone with ourselves. It lets us appreciate nature and gives us the opportunity to think things through with a relaxed spirit. It gives us a chance to exercise if we use the opportunity to ski, run, or cycle, or it gives us the chance to simply read a book in the park. In today’s increasingly virtual world I don’t understand how phones have taken over actual conversations, and how video games have replaced walks in the park. I simply can’t comprehend why so many people live indoors all of their lives, in a manmade world of concrete, when so much more is waiting for us just beyond the doorstep.
Though getting outdoors is important for everyone, it’s especially important for children who will continue on the path you set them on from an early age, either incorporating outdoor activities and nature into their daily life, or shunning it completely. I hope that all of you reading this will make an extra effort to go outside, on that hike you have been meaning to do, or on that bicycle path you have never tried, especially if you have children, because we have no hope as a species if we shun the natural world waiting outdoors for the manmade one inside our walls.
