Sittingon a rocking chair, in front of my house, I feel the cool breeze dry up the little droplets of sweat on my forehead. I hear the sweet chirpings of birds around and the rustle of the leaves as the wind passes by. Taking in a deep breath, I feel so relaxed and so in sync with all that I see in my exterior. No doubt, I love the outdoors.
Funny though, I wasn't always an outdoor person. I was raised to be an indoor person especially with the high rate of insecurity going on within thw community then, my parents had no choice but to always seecure I and my siblings via locking the gte consistently.
"If you want to play, then play in the compound" my mum would say. I got used to living that way and even my friends got used to it as well. Without a doubt, being indoors is fun in its own way. For instance, you feel sheltered without a care in the world for whatever is happening on the outside.
I lived in a community that was filled with notorious thugs and so it wasn't a surprise whenever we hear of police raids in the community, some even leading to severe injuries due to the hot chase of thugs by the police. It was rather a noisy time back then.
When I am indoors, I play games like snake and ladder, ludo, scrabble and even card games. There's also a kiddies game I enjoyed playing then called tag although in my community it was called police catch a thief. I and my friends would each take tirns to role play as police officers, with the rest being the criminals that should be caught. Aside playing ganes, I could watch tv shows for as long as I can or better still I could pick up my novel and begin to read.
As I grew older, I encountered several scenarios that woke up the exterior loving side of me. I love nature and all things connected with it. My most favourite place to visit for a relaxing time is the beach. I can't really say if its the gigantic waves or the large amounts of air that rushes by when you are at the beach or maybe its even the feel of the sand under my feet but whichever it is, I can't help my love for the beach and outdoors.
Aside the beach, I also love visiting parks and gardens where I get the chance to simply sit and relax, enjoying the serenity of the space around me. I have also come to find that reading a novel or a good book outdoors gives a higher chance of assimilation. I tried this during my school days and it worked for me to a great extent. I recall one time I had a serious test to write. While my roommates where busy chatting about irrelevant things, I picked up my notebook and went to the garden. There I began to read out loud to myself. I even soliloquized without interruption or awkward stares from people.
I think I'm an amphibian in the sense that I can be an indoor person or an outdoor person where necessary. I can thrive and adapt to whatever situation but fact is that I love nature, hence my love for the outdoors.
Thank you all for reading... Shalom
Images used are mine.