It’s been rough. We’re not meant to be inside this long. We’re not meant to spend this much time with our devices. We’re not meant to hit pause like this on our jobs, on our businesses, on whatever projects we have been working on.

How long will this continue? No one can say. 

But there is something you can do to maintain your mental and physical health: You can get outside and get out into nature. Safely, of course, but there is a reason that governments are opening up beaches and state parks. It’s not so you can go play smashball and beer pong. It’s so you can go for one of those “wandering walks” that Seneca talked about. It’s so you can see, up close, those stalks of grain bending low that Marcus Aurelius beautifully observed, maybe see a wild boar running through the underbrush, or fruit ripe on the tree. It’s so you can look up at the stars, as he wrote, and imagine yourself running with them—or better, actually do run with them, on the beach, at night. 

When we talk about stillness being the key we’re not talking about sitting in your house doing nothing. We’re not even talking about meditation. We’re actually talking about getting out and getting active. We’re talking about soaking in the outdoors. We’re talking about letting your heart and head slow down while your body moves.

Again, this has to be done safely. It has to be done smartly. If you see a full parking lot, turn around and head elsewhere. If you’re landlocked or in an urban desert, you’ll have to get creative. But creative you must be, because you have to do this. It’s unnatural not to. And it’s unsustainable.

P.S. This was originally sent on May 25, 2020. Sign up today for the Daily Stoic’s email and get our popular free 7-day course on Stoicism.