Spring Sunlight

I often end up a little scarce during spring, don't I? There are many reasons for it. One is that, as beautiful as spring is, I also find it sort of agitating/restless. Especially in Arizona where the weather can constantly be moving from one extreme to the other during this time of year, my energy and state of mind end up being affected. Then given that spring is lovely, there are often more things to do this time of year, whether those be events/festivals or state parks. Thirdly, spring was one of the busiest times of the year where I used to work--and this year it's turned out to be one of the busiest times ever for the place I'm currently at due to all the, um, concerns gripping the country right now. So with working more, trying to enjoy the spring, and also feeling off base because of the spring (and because of some other reasons that I might get into at some later point), the posts have once more suffered.

Yesterday when I got into the car, my phone lit up with such-and-such many minutes to such-and-such park. I thought, yes, I've done it. It takes a few weeks for your phone to register a new workplace as Work, or for it to know that you're headed to church on Sunday mornings--and a few weeks for it to know that you go to the park every Monday morning. You see, I was never into gyms and I always thought I wasn't the type of person who goes to run at the park. But then in January I was thinking many things and in a way wasn't sure of certain things about my identity (I'm talking about inherent vs. learned traits). So I thought that that was a great time to start being "the type of person who goes to the park."

I alternate walking and jogging; you can use the length of songs to help set the pace. I just do one quick loop and then go home. I hadn't run since freshman year of high school fifteen years ago, so even that wore me out the first couple times. Now I'm fairly used to it and the time passes quickly and I can more focus on the fresh air and the trees. And now is a good time for that. We all need some fresh air and exercise right now.

Everyone is trying to stay home and so many things are being closed or canceled (bye, next month's opera or the opening of Mulan). But depending on where you live, you may still be able to get outside. Whether it's walking at the park, sitting in your back yard, or going to a trail, these things don't put you in close contact with other people and probably don't even require touching anything while you're out either. We need the sunlight for body and mind.

Edit 3/25: I don't know if I was clear enough. I do mean outdoor things that do not put you around lots of people. If the park or trail or wherever is full of people, skip it.