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March 28, 2024 4:04 am
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‘Paul It All Together’: Go Outside and Play!

By CHARLENE PAUL

Charlene Paul

Hello friends. Are you beat, bored, broken-down? Are you faint, fatigued, fed up? Were you sleepy at your last soiree? Are you overburdened, overloaded, overtaxed? Did you poop out at your last party? Are your muscles a mass of gelatinous mush? Is your smile turned upside down in a perpetual frown? If so, you have a problem. You’re in a pickle. You’ve got yourself a predicament. And this problem, this pickle, this predicament can lead to other muddled messes like increased cynicism, irritability, sarcasm, bitterness, and pessimism. It can put your family and friends in a dither. It can vex your boss. In short, it can make your life a wretched waste of woebegone days.

But there is an answer to your problem. There is a cure for your pickle. There is a fix for your predicament. And it won’t cost you an arm or even a leg. You don’t have to acquire pre-approval. There are no co-pays or preferred providers, and you don’t need to worry about early refills. There are no appointments to keep. There are no bureaucratic regulatory committees to muddy the waters. In fact, the waters are most often clean and clear.

So what is the cure, the answer, the fix? It can be found in those words spoken by mothers and grandmothers since the beginning of time: “Go outside and play. And don’t come back inside until you’re good and tired!”

That’s right, log off that computer, put down that cell phone, get off that couch. Life is too short to be spent inside doing things you don’t really want to do. It is too short to spend it in a mass of depression, despondency, and discouragement. Life was meant to be enjoyed, and nature was created to make life enjoyable. You don’t need a specific destination to enjoy getting outside to play. Nature is all around.
Lace up your walking shoes. Take a hike up the mesa. Saddle your horse. Hop on your ATV. Jump on your bike. Pack a picnic lunch. Play at the park. Start up a walking club. And don’t be afraid of a little sweat.

Take a cue from Gene Kelly and dance in the sprinklers or splash in a wading pool. Can you think of a better way to wash away seeds of cynicism, sarcasm, and pessimism?

When was the last time you enjoyed the beauty of a morning sunrise? Okay, so it would be easier if the sunrise happened around noon, but making the effort to get out of bed early enough to drink in the golden liquid droplets of the first rays of morning will definitely invigorate your tired mind.

And what about the sunset, nature has a remarkable way of adding an exclamation point to the end of each day. There is something about watching the glowing sun slowly sink behind the horizon trailing shards of light through the clouds and dying the sky with bright oranges, deep reds, calm pinks, and finally fading into inky blues as darkness takes over; that fills a soul with gratitude and wonder.

Look up into the night sky and discover a stunning treasure chest filled with astronomical jewels two and a half million light-years away from your own backyard.

I must, however, add a caution here. All of this nature stuff – playing outside, getting good and tired – could possibly lead to a few issues that may be a little confusing. There may be periods of technology withdrawals, stress disengagement, and boredom relinquishment replaced by cycles of star-gazing, long walk-taking, and cloud-watching. Periods of overburden and overload may be replaced by cycles of contentment and cooperation. You may experience spontaneous euphoria, unplanned bliss, and unexplained good moods. Give yourself time to acclimate to those new experiences and soon you will wonder how you ever survived without going outside to play.

So if you’re fed up with fatigue, tired of party-pooping, and baffled with boredom, do something about it. Slather on that sunscreen. Don the floppy hat. Secure those shades. Lace up your hiking boots. Open your umbrella. Turn off the electronics. Unlatch your front door. Walk out your back door. Look up. Look down. Smile. Laugh. Get physical. In other words, “Go outside and play. And don’t come back inside until you’re good and tired!”

Charlene Paul and her husband Ken raised their family in Moapa Valley. She loves reading, writing, baking, crochet, and talking. She is the owner of Look on the WRITE Side, a freelance writing and proofreading company and can be contacted at lookonthewriteside@gmail.com.

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