Out of Place
Aug 20, 2014
[caption id="attachment_1933" align="alignnone" width="350"]
Baby Sea Turtle tracks in Australia! [/caption]
Have you ever watched a turtle cross a road? Or have you ever seen a turtle try to cross over a road? They are kind of slow, even for turtles. Many turtles that brave crossing the highway never make it. Some get hit by cars, others get picked up by caring drivers and placed back on the side of the road; probably the side they were trying to get away from. Yes, people actually stop their cars and help turtles cross the road. Of all the reptiles, turtles seem to be the most lovable.
Anyway, turtles are slow, awkward and apt to die on the highway because they are "out of place." Turtles were not made for the road. They were made for ponds, lakes, rivers and oceans. Turtles are known for being slow, but really, they are only slow when they are out of place. Have you ever seen a turtle swim? They are graceful. They move swiftly and effortlessly. When a turtle is in the right environment, they move and live the way they were designed to move and live.
We are a lot like turtles. In our natural environment, when we are not "out of place", we are a lot more likely to move and live the way we were designed: with grace, strength, power and efficiency. However, when we are out of place, we are like the turtle crossing the road: sluggish, apathetic, lethargic, stiff, immobile, and just plain awkward.
What is the natural environment for us humans? Outside. The whole world is here for us to move around in and play and explore. The reason there is so much beauty outside in the world is so that we will go explore it. It is put there to call us out and encourage us to live and move the way we were meant to.
What is "out of place" for us humans? Inside. More specifically, inside small boxes we call offices, cubicles, cars, planes, chairs. Anything that lulls us in to being static, slow and lethargic. That is "out of place".
You already know this is true. How do you feel when you go on vacation and you explore the mountains or the beaches? You feel "good." You feel alive, like you are living. Now compare that to how you feel when you spend 8 to 12 hours inside of a box. You probably feel like "blah", you are alive, but you are only existing.
We live in a beautiful world that begs us to engage and live. A world designed for our design. We have created a world that lulls us to into apathy - our biggest enemy. We have created a world that ignores our design. We are out of place.
The boxes we have made are here to stay, but our design has not changed. We were not meant to live every single day "out of place". Get outside of the box. Be deliberate and go outside. Honor the way you were made and move your body. Go for walks, go for runs, go for crawls. Climb trees (you were once able to), climb hills, explore valleys. Just a simple walk every day could help restore both your mind and your body. It is crazy, but deliberately walking, or crawling, every day could be just enough to make you feel alive.
We were not meant to exist in boxes anymore than a turtle was meant for the highway. Find ways to get outside of your box. Put your design to use.
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