By Nizhooni Hurd | Photo by Anil Jergens
I feel like an unaccredited Active Life writer. What could I possibly write this week, when I have been home doing nothing? I wouldn’t call myself outdoorsy in the sense that I need to always be active when outside. I just like being — specifically, being outside. I’m a “to be” rather than a “to do” type gal. And so this brings me to the forced false reality of writing for Active Life when really all that’s active are my eyeballs going back and forth between Twitter on my phone and Hulu on my Chromecast.
I haven’t figured out how to do the weird in-home climbing (as featured in Outside Magazine) like all the desperate serious climbers have. I have not gone on a run (let alone a walk) at my local outdoor park like a faithful Colorado resident should have. I have come to the point where the outdoorsy things I have done since the stay-at-home order began are few to none. I have come to a sad and unruly truth: that I am simply not active enough to be an “Active Life Writer.” Or is this what we call Impostor syndrome?
As defined by the New Oxford American Dictionary, Impostor syndrome is “the persistent inability to believe that one’s success is deserved or has been legitimately achieved as a result of one’s own efforts or skills.”
This means that if I feel, or you feel, like a fraud right now, it’s probably not true. I take it back: I am still outdoorsy. And there are things, should I call them little or not, that contribute to how I have been staying mildly active. In no particular order, these are:
- Taking a walk during the full moon. No, I don’t feel the need to howl at the moon and act wild. I like the feeling of being still and quiet and listening to the night and letting the moon be a blanket over me.
- Maybe 20 squats and some donkey kicks before my shower. No need to be extra, just a lil some some.
- Perhaps a 10-minute jog. Just to break a sweat, elevate the heart rate, and enjoy some water.
- Cleaning every inch of my home. I’m reaching high up and focusing on squatting with the dustpan (don’t hurt your back bending over like that). Also, a clean home to me signifies care, gratefulness and respect for the place you live. Can’t enjoy it if it’s not clean, and the same should go for the earth.
- Squeezing my peaches during Zoom calls… why not?
- Planks here and there for 15-30 seconds.
- Leg exercises in bed while I watch my shows.
- Sitting on my porch watching people.
- Dancing by myself in the mirror.
- Maybe figuring out a workout video.
- Can I include laughing? My stomach and face hurt and sometimes I cry — especially if it’s a good one.
This time is home to many mixed feelings about how people should be spending their time. We may or may not feel good enough or worthy enough because we feel like we aren’t doing enough. Some are forcing the hiking and daily activity — because they never learned to sit down. For some, this might be the time they needed to do what they wanted. We truly don’t know what anyone is going through. But in the spirit of an active life, we should exercise our brains and meditate on our motives and consider the reasonable or unreasonable expectations we have for ourselves in this time. It’s OK to be mildly active. Active is still active. Life is life.