We are fast approaching the dog days of summer.  I don’t want to alarm you, I just want you to know the truth.  It will not be long before the weather starts to turn again and for some of us, the temperature will start to dip (not here in Charleston, SC, where Summer is insufferable, Fall is 85%, and winter is a few weeks).  When the fall and winter start setting in, you will look back on these days and wonder, “what was I doing inside?”  

Listen, I am not here to lecture anyone.  Lord knows I have logged plenty of couch hours on a beautiful day.  Times and priorities change and what are we doing if we are not trying to constantly better ourselves?  Are you going to meet your potential by staying indoors? Of course not, you will die alone and pale and it will be embarrassing to your family.  You need to take full advantage of the beauty of life and you need to get outside and have some fun and a few adventures.  

Getting outside is about the experiences you can have.  Have you noticed the various blooming seasons that have come and gone in the last month or so?  If not, why?  What is wrong with appreciating a nice flower blooming season?  I had some roses going crazy by my house and I am constantly envious of my neighbors’ hydrangeas (how are they so colorful and full what the hell is in their water?!).  My point is not that you should go and take of gardening, my point is that on a fundamental level, there are some very beautiful things to at least look at outside.  

And that is to say nothing about activities. Getting a good run in, clears the mind and is good for the heart.  Hell, it is how I manage my anger.  Getting to the beach, getting in the ocean, that is good for the soul.  There is an earthly power feeling the repetitive motion of the ocean. It is grounding like some kind of cosmic metronome. It keeps the clocks in your head ticking right.  At least that’s what I told my therapist, as the anxiously scribbled in their notepad. 

Have you ever gotten into a quiet part of a park or a forest and just listened to the growing cacophony of song birds and calls?  The longer you sit, the more that you can hear.  You feel very small when the entire life of a place as big as a forest no longer notices you.  It’s good to feel small, because too often we forget that we are not the center of the turning of the planets. 

What about your social life? Can you maintain a robust social life indoors?  No, you can’t.  Unfortunately, in the day of swiping right and social media, you really can toil under the delusion that you have genuine connections.  The slight dopamine hit of a social interaction provided by an app is enough to slake a thirst, but it is not sustenance.  Without sustenance we die. Make no mistake about it, we evolved as social creatures, we survive on social connectivity. 

So, get up and get out. Do it in a Block + Ink shirt so that you can look good while you are out there.  The light fabric makes the heat bearable.  The button down allows you to modulate your temperature.  Also, this shirt basically screams pool party.  It’s that simple.