It could change your life:
open the windows.
We have become a people who dwell in a sterile land.
We go from our air-conditioned houses to air-conditioned cars with the windows rolled up tight and the recirculated-air button compressed. We enter our destinations (school, office, church, shops) with their environmentally-controlled air. More recycled air. Sterile. Clean. We’re quite appalled if particles of dust or a bug appears. Shocking!
Is the Sanitized Life for You?
This antiseptic environment does not offer the best of life … nor it is actually, um, antiseptic. Indoor air pollution is real. The recycling air can grow stale with increasing concentrations of toxins from carpets, furniture and cleaning products. It can also recycle germs and pollutants.
Open the windows. Turn the a/c off. Your power company may just send you a thank-you note. They struggle with providing all the energy for our monstrously consuming need for more power … especially the perpetuation of our climate-controlled environments.
Not As Fragile
Go outside. Sunlight triggers skin to make vitamin D, fresh air fills our oxygen-deprived lungs. Being outside clearly benefits us. Prevention Magazine advocates that we spend much more time outside. A recent article even shares six ways a family can capture the outdoor adventures!
We are not made of sugar. We do not melt. We will not blow away.
Sitting on the concrete edge of a step in Zambia, I asked the children what it was like going to school during the rainy season. Not understanding my question, I needed to expand …
“Do you have umbrellas to share?”
“N0,” they said, exchanging perplexed looks.
“Well, don’t you get wet?” I tried again.
“Yes. But … you … dry.” Cracked me up!
Oh, my, how the rest of us try so hard to protect ourselves from the elements! We run from raindrops, shield our eyes from the sun, and avoid blustery days for the mess it makes of our hair. Buzz cut, anyone?
Stop and Smell the Roses
Indeed, open the windows. Go outside and smell the roses.
Are you neglecting the senses of smell and touch that God gave you? We are more than seeing and hearing and tasting beings. We have fully mastered the sense of taste if the number of food shows can be a measure of success.
Smell: the roses, honeysuckle, even the occasional offensive fragrance … they too are a part of life (hello Mr. Skunk and rural chicken farms!).
Touch: breezes, sand under my toes, velvet softness of a baby bunny … these fascinate children but somehow we adults reason ourselves out of these inconvenient use of senses.
Truly, if our only experience of wind is the a/c blowing from our cars’ air vents … well, then, we may need to get outside a bit more.
Be a Windseeker
Our nearby amusement park boasts a new ride this season: the WindSeeker. The 30-story high tower spins riders 30 mph at a 45-degree angle. It’s the ultimate adrenaline rush for our wind-deprived life!
One of the reasons I believe this ride will soar in popularity is our sterile life … we secretly do seek the wind in our hair.
This week…. open the windows. Feel the breeze. Breathe deeply.
It’s simply transformational!
Photo credit: Photo Extremist via photo pin cc
Growing up in New Zealand, in the scouts, and now having lots of crazy tramping, mountainous friends means: AMEN! Just wondering, where you are from? apart from amusement parks, how do the adventurous survive where you live? Over here native bush, beaches, and rivers are all but a quick drive away. where you live, does one have to strain to experience the wild?
Hi Iain! In Virginia we have the beautiful Chesapeake Bay, Atlantic beaches, and Appalachian hills within a couple hours…plus lots of State Parks in between. I just need to take time to enjoy them!! Someday I hope to make my way to New Zealand and Australia. Photos from your place make me want to just reach in a be a part of the landscape!! I’ve enjoyed readying your blog. Any updates?? :-)
Wow, sounds really attractive! One day I have to experience a country like America, it’s vast size makes me dream, and sets my imagination alight. To think there would be all that, and so close to where you live! Virginia…now that is something! Wasn’t it the first settlement/town? Do you ever get to thinking, THIS is what the first pioneers saw, where they first dared to dream of a free country, a new world…? Oh yes :D – You should come to New Zealand, it’s brilliant.
:D – I had a break from writing for a while, but I’m back into it. In fact I’m starting up a daily creative writing experience, based on writer’s prompts. I haven’t fully set it up yet, but there will be a post about it soon on “The One Step Mission.” Thanks for your encouragement, I’m glad you’re enjoying my blog!
Hey Iain! Yes, Virginia was one of the first places where Columbus landed. It does indeed fascinate me to consider the wonder they must have felt stepping onto this huge, beautiful continent. I love driving the roads and seeing new things mile after mile.
One of these days I just may make it to New Zealand! In the meantime, I will continue reading your blog and learning through it. I would love it if you post some pictures of the landscapes. :-)
I totally agree that we should get outdoors more and enjoy the fresh air and while we’re at it see the wondrous creations of nature that God has provided for us.
Indeed … God’s provisions are abundant!! He has created a phenomenal world for us to thrive in. Thanks for visiting my blog, Virginia!