“I am Summer, come to lure you away from your computer… come dance on my fresh grass, dig your toe into my beaches.”
~Oriana Green
For too many months we were cooped up in Covid-19 lockdown. There staring at our televison and computer screens either caught in the doldrums of working from home or staring at minute after minute of bad news as the tally of sick and dead spiraled in front of us like a freshly played slot machine.
ENOUGH! The voice within beckons as our inner child cries out for attention and the ability to heed the stern call of our parents when we were children, “GO OUTSIDE AND PLAY!” And don’t come back in until dinner time. In the word of Fiction Plane in their memorable song from the movie Holes, “If only, If only…”
Well, here is your chance and perhaps the easiest if not the most fun recommendation I’ll ever make for creating inner peace in your life. Get up, and get out. Outside that is. You making time to unleash your inner child that just loves to play is key to creating the balance necessary for sustained inner peace and emotional well being.
What is it you love doing most? Taking a sunset walk with your dog? Going for a long bike ride or hitting the single track with reckless abandon? Heading to the lake and breaking out the paddle board or simply sticking your toes in the cool refreshing water? Hitting your favorite beach and catching some waves? Grabbing your rod and bagging a few walleye? Climbing to the top of your favorite peak or walking leisurely down the Riverwalk? Packing up your favorite treats and the kids and enjoying a picnic at your favorite park?
The number of ways you can unload your stress and unwind outdoors is only limited by your own personal preference and your imagination. And don’t forget that the “Sunshine Vitamin,” Vitamin D has been scientifically proven to promote healthy growth of bones and teeth, help regulate a healthy immune system, elevate your mood and helps fight depression. So, a day in the sun may also be, just what the doctor ordered.
Remember that many of these activities can also include one of the mindfulness exercises I walked you through in previous post. Walking, hiking, biking, fishing, yoga, going on a run are all great activities for practicing mindfulness.
I’ve also said before that sometimes the most direct path to our inner peace is in taking action. In that earlier context I was speaking about taking action to correct a wrong or correct a social ill that is of detriment to society. In this case taking action is still of utmost importance. Only in this case it is strictly to relieve your level of stress by injecting a good amount of FUN in your life!
What my friends could be better than that?
Just remember that we are not completely out of the woods with Covid – 19 yet so it’s still a good idea to continue social distancing when you go outside and when in close quarters wear a mask.
GO!
