Perhaps there is no better way to appreciate the natural world than to enjoy a beautiful spring day. Even in the world’s densest metropolises, people swarm outside during lunch breaks to get some fresh air, sit on a bench under a tree, or soak up a few rays of sunshine. It simply feels good to get away from artificial light and to be outside.
When winter breaks and the first warm, sunny day appears, so does humanity. Released from our dens and our hibernation, we find ourselves in parks and on sidewalks, on trails and in fields, on public cafe patios and personal private porches. We like nice weather. We like the shade and wind, sun and green leaves, and nature blooming forth. This, in itself, is important. The best way to promote environmental awareness may simply be reminding ourselves how nice it is to have some trees and grass and open spaces in which to roam. We have to make sure not to turn it all to parking lots, or foul the air so it’s no longer blue, or litter the streams and fields so we have no place to play.
We may no longer be hunter-gatherers, but we are still an active and migratory people. Our technologies have just allowed us to migrate faster, farther, and filthier than we could ever have imagined. We may not seem to be directly connected to the land anymore, yet we are, and will always be. We just need a reminder from time to time. So take a walk. Go outside. Nap under a tree. Enjoy the outdoors.
As for me, I’m off for a jog through the woods.
(Image by author)
