As beneficial as it may be health-wise to get outside, breathe some fresh air and appreciate the beauty of nature, sometimes it’s nice just spending the entire day indoors — you can stay in pajamas (or in my case, nothing), not bother showering or putting on makeup, eat whatever’s in the pantry, read whatever’s on the shelf and catch up on emails or phone calls.
My blogging pal Shawn, of the late Kowai (R.I.P.), told me some months ago that he makes a regular point of doing just this. He refers to it as a mental health day because it’s dedicated time for him to be still, relax and collect his thoughts before rushing into another week of stressful running around. And, of course, it’s green, in that less resources are used, there’s no transit involved and nothing new is purchased or consumed.
While I definitely think it’s important to keep up social obligations during the winter and not just sit around at home on the couch all day, I also believe it’s worthwhile having time to oneself, being sort of mentally minimalistic (please, let’s not refer to this as “me time”). So from now on, I’m going to make sure that every couple weeks, I have an inside day.
Photo above is of me, hiding out in a tent during an especially frigid camping trip in Algonquin Park.
Posted by gettinggreen
