Outdoors

I'd venture to say that most people reading this blog are indoor creatures (including myself). We spend most of our waking hours in closed quarters, finding our way through the day with incandescent or fluorescent lighting. Only minimal time is spent in the open air.

On a typical weekday, I'd venture to say that I spend well less than one hour outdoors. Between the house-car-office-car-house routine, there's really not much room for unintended fresh air to creep in. To be exposed to natural elements, we don't have much choice but to be deliberate in our outdoor excursions.

I can't imagine that most people would argue too vigorously against the positive effects of spending time outside. From a physical standpoint, moderate amounts of sunlight is the sole natural producer of vitamin D in the human body. The air is quite certainly cleaner than inside the office or the house[1].

While the positive physical effects are enough to make me venture out from my confortable confines that I call my room, I believe that an even greater effect is of mental nature. Having taken our mind and body out of our regular insulated environment, we notice a kind of healthy "mental wandering", as we spend time outside. Each exposure to the elements, the sounds of leaves or birds, the touch of the winds, the coming and going of sunshine amongst the clouds, the subsiding warmth as the sun gets ready to set, become catalysts for new thoughts in our minds. Even the man-made impetus of a car passing by gives us perspective into the days we have lived and the years we have ahead of us.

We have become creatures of habit. We are so trapped in our routine from day to day, that such deliberations are needed to reflect on just how mechanized we have become. While such automation of life can be empowering at times, it is undoubtedly a double edged sword. We should tread lightly.

And so for the past few weekends, I'm making a conscious effort to spend time outside. It doesn't even make that I'm doing "outdoorsy" activities; today I spent 5 hours outside in the yard with my laptop and a copy of The Economist.

If I can do something both indoors and outdoors, I'll strive to get myself outside for a change.