Touching grass

Is it silly? Is it profound?

“Grasshopper” (1935), M.C. Escher

Sunday morning, it occurred that I hadn’t taken a day off in three weeks.

I say “occurred,” but really it was the body that it occurred to. I felt torpor and fatigue. My legs ached. The idea of sitting in a chair at a desk one more time made my bones groan—so, I packed a tote bag, made coffee, and set out.

I’m lucky to live in a part of Los Angeles that meets the “3+30+300 rule.” (I.e., can you see three trees from your home? Is there tree canopy cover shading at least 30% of the surrounding neighborhood? Can you find a park within 300 meters of where you live, study, or work?) Which meant pretty soon I found a shady patch under a tree in a park and set up camp—a portable chair, the book I’m reading, some water, some coffee, and the Sunday crossword.

But I also removed my shoes and socks.

Touching grass, if you haven’t heard, is internet-speak to remind you to get off your laptop and go outside, connect with the world. Of course, the online world is extremely real, rapidly more so—and its influence on our anxieties is well-documented. Whereas time in nature is calming, comforting, and can decrease a sense of isolation—this we also know. And actually feeling the ground without anything between my feet and the dirt felt great.

I won’t even get into how hippie this is. The hippies got some things right.

On top of that, though, there was a point of return. Something about it all—the smell of coffee, the feel of a book, the earth under my feet—brought me home. I felt twenty again, excited again. No more torpor or fatigue. For three hours, maybe four, all I cared about was that moment—reading, flitting in and out of naps, doing the puzzle.

I took a picture of the tree above me and sent it to a friend. I walked home and treated myself to a taco. Remembering and thereby knowing better, in both body and mind, this is what I care about, this is who I am.

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What the what

“Meditations in an Emergency” is a weekly essay from writer Rosecrans Baldwin about something beautiful. Paying subscribers receive a Sunday supplement with three-plus things to love, plus the monthly “Humans Being Humans” ballyhoo.

Rosecrans is a correspondent for GQ, a contributing writer at Travel + Leisure, and the bestselling author of Everything Now, winner of the California Book Award. Other books include The Last Kid Left and Paris, I Love You but You’re Bringing Me Down. His debut novel, You Lost Me There, was a New York Times Book Review Editors’ Choice. For magazine articles, bio, contact info, try rosecransbaldwin.com.