Recreation & Fitness

Louis credits a lot of his affinity with nature to the fact there wasn’t a television in his home until he was in high school. His family spent their free time reading, working on hobbies, listening to music and radio, and discussing current issues. Also, most of the places where they lived when he was growing up were on the edges of urban areas, so he often took advantage of opportunities to play in neighboring fields and woods. Sometimes he felt deprived and watched television at friends’ houses, but looking back today, he believes that having less exposure to television than his friends was a blessing that has continued to enhance the quality of his life.

Given that today most families use the television for their major source of recreation, we are concerned for the future of our planet. The television numbs and distracts people so that they are no longer communicating with each other in the evenings. And they tend to come away with a distorted view of the world situation. They are also bombarded with advertisements that tell them how they should be living, and what they should buy, eat, drink, and think, and even whom to vote for.

A recent book, Last Child in the Woods, Saving our Children from Nature-Deficit Disorder by Richard Louv, explains that without a personal relationship with the natural world, humans will be less inclined to work to protect it. Our children’s world view may come only from television, the web, and video games. This implies that we have a big job ahead to re-direct those children outdoors to feel the grass, climb a tree, and love a piece of land like it was their friend. How can we convince them that leaving their technology indoors is progress?

Things that we do for recreation include:

• Reading aloud to each other, fiction and non-fiction (often Louis reads while Ruah quilts or knits)
• Reading our own books
• Bird watching (either from our home or while taking a walk)
• walking for the pure pleasure of being outdoors (and it’s good for our health)
• Snow shoeing and cross-country skiing in the winter
• Riding our bikes in the summer
• Camping
• Playing musical instruments or listening to our over-flowing collection of CD’s
• Occasionally watching a rented movie (we don’t watch any television)
• Sitting outdoors and enjoying a sunrise or sunset
• Star gazing (and the occasional northern lights)
• Potlucks with friends
• Visits with family who live out of state, which is one of the more energy-intensive activities

What this all really amounts to is that you don’t have to consume a lot of resources to have healthy fun. •