It is now the middle of summer, and what a glorious summer it is for me! I have been outside a lot this summer enjoying nature, walking, relaxing, fishing, a little hiking. I listen to the birds, watch the rabbits, and squirrels. It makes me feel good just to be alive.
I see many people around me, whose only clue the seasons have changed from cold to warm is the fact they turned off their heat, and turned on their air conditioning. They are in a constant cycle, or rut if you will. I bet if I ask them if they had any song birds around their house, they would be hard pressed to remember if they have seen a bird. If I ask them about rabbits or squirrels, their only response would be as it relates to their driving.
They live in this little protected cocoon. The temperature is always just so, it never rains, the wind never blows, the birds never sing except when they are trying to sleep in. These same folks if they exercise at all, exercise in the air conditioned comfort of a gym, either at home, or a club. Their only contact with the natural world they should be a part of is going from a building to their vehicle, or vehicle to a building.
I do not think that we should be outside every possible moment. I do think we should make time each day to enjoy the world around us. Not just marking time in an indoor environment where nothing ever changes. What motivates me to get outside besides the fact that I enjoy nature, is I know my death is just around the corner. I do not know when that time is, but I know that every minute of every day my death is closer than it was just a moment ago.
I want to feel the sun on my face. I want to feel the wind blow. I want to feel cold. I want to be too hot and break out into a sweat. I don’t get upset over the shower water being a little cool because I am the last one in the shower, and we have to leave soon. It is either a cool shower, or no shower, but I know that I am alive in the shower. I want to feel my fingers get stiff from cold at times. I want to get a little sunburn now and then.
Because my death is just around the corner, I want to feel all these things, and sometimes I search them out. When I was not quite as mortal as I am now, I would take some risks with my body, and perhaps my life. I want to know I am alive. Because before I know it, my body will be in a refrigerator somewhere. My body will spend a day to two there, but it won’t feel any cold, it won’t know the lights are out. My body won’t know it has been taken out of the refrigerator and placed in a coffin. My body won’t know what happens after that either.
When I look around and see people driving with their ac on, and their favorite music playing, I wonder if they realize that there will not be a big change between how they live at present, the day of their death, and the few days that follow their death?
For myself, I want to know I am alive, and I am as much a part of the natural world as I can be. I do not want to go from a temperature controlled life to a temperature controlled death. How about you? Have you given any thought to the natural world, and your part in it? Is the natural world a part of your life? I hope so, because if the natural world is not a part of your life, you are cheating yourself out of half of your life.
If you live an inside life, go outside, get hot, get cold, get wet when it rains. Know you are alive, and the world is real!
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