Editor's Corner: We're Opting Outside This Weekend

Published November 24, 2017 11:19AM

#OptOutside This Black Friday

It’s the morning after Thanksgiving, and some of you may be rubbing your eyes as you roll out of bed and contemplate the day ahead. Will you spend another day celebrating the onset of the holiday season with family and friends? Is Black Friday shopping on your agenda?

It’s odd to jump straight from the reflective atmosphere of Thanksgiving dinner to the cutthroat nature of Black Friday. Of course, that’s the way our culture designed it. And hey, don’t get me wrong–I still have plenty of errands to run before I can cross everything off my holiday to do list. But I won’t be running any of them today. The only line I’m planning to stand in is the one at my local coffee shop.

Instead of shopping, I’m going to spend the morning with one of my best friends and the evening with my family. At some point during the day, I’ll take a cue from REI and #OptOutside, choosing fresh air, the great outdoors and exercise over consumption. Many of us indulged on Thanksgiving Day (myself included)–and it’s perfectly okay that we did. For those of us that take pains to keep our minds and bodies healthy throughout the year, it’s nice to have a day during which we allow ourselves to have an extra serving of stuffing, or a larger than normal slice of pie. It’s a reminder that the world won’t end if our fueling plan is occasionally disrupted–we are, after all, only human, and we deserve to enjoy ourselves. Sometimes, “enjoying ourselves” means challenging our cousins to a pie eating contest or seeing who in the family can finish their meal and race into the kitchen the fastest for seconds. Such is life.

This morning, I love the idea of going for a hike, or dusting off my bike and taking it for a spin around the lake near my parents’ house. I’d like to start the day by walking to my favorite coffee shop instead of driving there, and encourage my family to take a walk with me after tonight’s dinner. I know that my running shoes will soon begin calling, begging me to lace them up for a jaunt through my neighborhood. However my Friday unravels, one thing’s for sure: I’ll be spending a good portion of it outside, not waiting in lines or feeling frustration build as I circle gridlocked parking lots. With another month to go in the holiday season, there’s plenty of time for all of that–but today, I just want to keep the feelings of peace, calm and family alive for a little longer.

If you have shopping planned this weekend, we totally get that. Life is busy, and the holiday errands need to happen at some point. But we at Team WR encourage you to take some time for yourself this weekend to opt outside. Go for a run, take a hike, enjoy a leisurely stroll with loved ones or in solitude–and don’t forget to tag #TeamWR if you share your #optoutside activities on social media. Fresh air in the lungs can only do a body good.