I’m an indoor person. I don’t like dirt. I don’t like sitting on the grass or the smell of freshly mowed lawn. I prefer the pool over the ocean and the car’s AC over fresh air from windows rolled down. To be fair on that last point, I live in the city where there’s a lot of pollution. Every single time I roll down the windows, I have to roll them back up and use my asthma inhaler. Every. Single. Time. I actually think asthma is the reason I like staying inside. Too many pollutants aggravate my lungs. Not being able to breathe is kind of traumatizing.
So it never fails to surprise me how refreshing going outside actually can be. I used to think I couldn’t go stir-crazy for being cooped up, but I was wrong. Part of my selfcare practice is to get up and go outside. It’s not just to move around, because moving around the house doesn’t calm down the restlessness inside. I have to go and walk around somewhere, like my local Target. Best leave that credit card at home, though!
What I’ve noticed about myself however, is that I haven’t been incorporating this selfcare practice regularly. It’s like Newton’s law of motion (simplified): an object in motion stays in motion and an object at rest stays at rest. Angela staying inside stays inside until I start to atrophy. I become restless and irritable. I become annoyed at everything, and I couldn’t figure out what’s wrong. Then I huff outside, into my car, and just drive to any destination to get away, and it hits me! I’ve been inside too long. I just needed a fresh breathe of air, a change of pace, a new scenery, and see other people.
If you’re an indoor person like me, try getting up and going outside as part of your selfcare practice. Here are some ideas:
- Go window shopping.
- Go on a bike ride.
- Take a walk around the block.
- Start a garden and tend to it.
- Eat your lunch at a park, picnic style.
- Take a coffee break at a local cafe, but sit outside.
- Read a book at the park, maybe on a bench overlooking a lake.
- Volunteer to walk shelter dogs once a week.
- Go on a photography scavenger hunt like this one.
- Play tourist in your own city, or show a friend around your city.
