Refuge.
what kind of culture is this?
I’m an outsidervist. I’m an advocate for the outside. Being outside of it. Trees are there. Go outside. It’s where all the magic is. Now I use outside to heal myself. I know that the answers are outside. But the question is. Am I attached to the outside as a conscious choice? Or a response to having been kept out of the inside? I can’t tell you what footsteps sound like inside. Or if there’s rain under a roof. Does it shower beneath a ceiling? If you’re inside do you ever feel a hat get heavier? Do your clothes become a burden? I couldn’t tell you what they do for warmth on the inside. Whether or not they need to huddle together. Create their own dances. Glue grief with gut vibrations. Kinetic laughter. I imagine people just walk into rooms whenever they like. Which ever room they please. That’s how I imagine it. On the inside. Everything is numbered. Ordered. Endless catalogues. Definitely. Definitely. I’ll be honest. Sometimes I peek through the windows. Whenever it’s cold. I can’t believe they’re not wearing jackets. I wish their smiles were subtitled. So I could know if they were genuine. And were we ever to lock pupils, would the circle open? Or curtains shut? I heard that it’s possible to get in. Welcomed, palms open. Suited grins. Homely aroma. That’s what I’ve heard. The time varies. But eventually we are always shown a door. A magnificent, accomplished door. Push it open and we’re back outside again. Door closed. Warm air. Green arms. Sticky breeze. Outside. I’m an advocate for being outside. But after a deep breath, the question remains. Did I choose to be out here? And if not, would I wish I was? After all, it’s where all the magic is.
Interesting thought.
Outside in the physical sense - exposed to the elements of the Earth. For all the good and bad that can be for us. Inside is shelter and safety. We as humans are programmed to thrive with a mixture of both. Maybe if you have too much of one, you do need more of the other for balance.
Outside in the Social sense - again we are programmed for connection and community and yet sometimes that stifles. Too much to process alongside our own selves and we need to get Outside. Outside too much though and it's clear the balance of the other is needed. Loneliness shows this.
Outside in the sense of just being. Well sometime we do get too consumed by how we think and feel and some escapism is needed. That's why people can turn to drink and drugs. Netflix binges. Distraction. Temporary reprieve but again, too much can be too much. The biggest irony of all this is endless TilTok scrolls etc which make you both connected and disconnected at once (thoughts for another day).
However this is all with the luxury of insight but more importantly CHOICE. Something which we sometimes don't have. Temporarily or longer term. I think that if you feel you need more outside-ness in any sense, embrace it. Just don't tip the scales too strongly in one direction.