Essays
Moseying: Exploring the Natural World
Braving a sandstorm is a valuable educational experience
November 28, 2020
"It's too cold. It's too windy. It's too hot." There seems to be a new creature evolving -- a race of humans who cannot handle the vagaries of weather. If they are not in a climate controlled environment with a temperature of around 73 degrees Fahrenheit, they do not like it. To learn to move slow through intense heat, to find the holes in the wind, and or be sheltered cover from the cold are intimate ways of interacting with the world with we have been blessed. A Facebook post on November 17th about an ongoing sandstorm brought fifty responses that all said they hated the wind and the dust. One person said the wind was why she moved away from Midland.
Sandstorms test us, makes us stronger, hones optimism (the wind will stop, after all). Most importantly, we realize humans are not the most powerful thing on the planet. All violent forms of weather are reminders of our mortality and our place in the cosmos. Weather teaches not only optimism, but about being humble. Engaging the weather builds self-confidence, too -- "I am tough, I can handle anything!" Folks should find pride in enduring the extremes of our weather.
Too many people have a negative perception about living here, which I believe is rooted in the negative attitude about the weather. "It is what it is," I often feel like saying when I hear the mournful litany of the horrors of the weather. Whining is not worth the breath used. Hating the weather is limiting and makes the complainers into prisoners. If a person does not go outside and become involved with the world around us, he or she is a prisoner, confined to four walls and electronic devices.
In the last 20 years, children coming to the Sibley Nature Center have changed. Many children almost never go outside and have not learned to cheerfully suffer discomfort. Their discomfort overwhelms them. "85 degrees Fahrenheit is not hot. It is not unbearable. A little sweat is good for you – sweat is not nasty," I have had to tell many children.
Everyone knows about the increased rates of obesity in children and adults. And lots of folks know about the health issues associated with a sedentary life. There also seems to a direct correlation (in children) between Attention Deficit Disorder and hours of television and computer use. Getting outside has been identified as a therapy for ADD by a number of researchers. In "Endangered Minds" by Jane Heely, she makes the comment that our "virtual world" is reprogramming the human mind so that stimulation is strongest when focus changes rapidly – the "30 second sound bite or fifteen second commercial." Patience and commitment are no longer virtues or even skills that are taught.
No matter how complex we make our urban and virtual worlds, people are not as stimulated as when involved with the wild out of doors. The out of doors has so much more to offer -- the diversity, the challenges, the surprises, or the myriads of wonders. The natural world is limitless, while the world inside is limited.
The United States was created by people who did not blink at adversity. If we do not teach our children to endure the extremes of weather we do them a disservice – we turn them into prisoners. Get your children outside! Challenge them to learn (by observation) the 50 most common birds, 50 most common wild plants of the region, 20 common mammals, and the 50 most common insects. It is not just quaint "nature study" – it is freeing your child, stimulating his or her mind, and opens the doors to values like patience and commitment. Surviving the wild weather events, or enduring the endless heat, or cutting through biting cold is a revolutionary experience – it is escaping from a safe prison!