January salvation

How to shake off those mid-winter doldrums

“January salvation,” read the caption beneath a photo of my friend’s kids on a chair lift. 

I knew exactly what she meant.

My own family spent last weekend skiing the tiny mountain near my parents’ house in Connecticut. By the end of the weekend, we were exhausted in the best way possible. Two active days spent entirely outdoors was the perfect antidote to the early January blues—salvation, if you will. It was also a reminder of how vital it is to get outdoors in winter.

So on Tuesday, my friend and I met up for a walk–despite the drizzle that was coming down. Yesterday instead of following my usual running loop through our neighborhood, I hooked north towards the strip of waterfront park on Flushing Bay. I was rewarded with hundreds of migratory birds, who’d sheltered there during the previous night’s storm, and a rainbow rising above LaGuardia. It was the best start to the day I’ve had in weeks.

The Scandinavians have a word for this kind of lifestyle: Friluftsliv (pronounced free-loofts-liv), which translates to “free air living” and in practice means getting outside no matter what the weather. 

A walk through city streets or a run near the airport is hardly a ramble in nature (not pure friluftsliv), but still, it makes such a difference. I have a hypothesis about why, and the answer isn’t just: You need to get outside. I also have some thoughts about how to actually log that outdoor time.