Take time to enjoy the outdoors

Here’s a bit of advice.

It’s been delivered pretty much annually on this page for years, but it’s worth repeating.

Get off the couch.

Get outside.

Go for a hike.

The past weekend’s crumby weather is undeniable. It positively ruined Redkey’s effort at a Fall Festival.

But if the transition to November holds its normal pattern, there will still be some nice days ahead in the next few weeks.

Take advantage of them. Get outside when you can, before winter rolls in.

Jay County is not, admittedly, Brown County.

But when autumn begins to do its magic, even the most ordinary of landscapes can be transformed. It’s worth your time to get out there and enjoy the spectacle.

Why?

Because it’s there, as Sir Edmund Hillary reportedly said when asked why he had climbed Mount Everest. Because it’s there.

Spending time in nature, especially when the seasons are changing, reminds each of us where we fit in the great scheme of things. 

We can simultaneously feel small and insignificant when we witness the glory of nature and feel larger than life when we recognize our connection to it all.

That’s not a binary choice. Both feelings are valid.

Sometimes it’s important to realize how small we are at the same time we realize how connected we are to something infinitely larger.

That sounds like some sort of heavy thought.

But in the moment, it’s not heavy at all.

So get off the couch.

Get outside.

Go for — at least — a walk around the block.

Autumn is waiting for you.

Don’t miss the show. — J.R.