is what a poet told my class on my first day of CRWR 210: Introduction to Creative Writing. She was a second-year graduate student at the time, working towards her Masters of Fine Arts degree, and teaching an undergraduate intro course. It was syllabus day, and my classmates and I were pleasantly surprised to see her attendance policy was quite lax. In fact, she didn\u2019t care about tracking attendance at all. She said something along the lines of, \u201cWe all have bad days. Maybe you should go sit under a tree. That\u2019s perfectly fine!\u201d We giggled at that. It seemed silly, to skip class and just sit under a tree. How was sitting under a tree better than going to class, which we had all paid to be able to attend?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In fact, \u201csitting under a tree\u201d became an inside joke between my friends and I. If someone was missing or running late, you would just shrug and say, \u201cMaybe they\u2019re sitting under a tree.\u201d I just couldn\u2019t understand why my poetry professor would want me to go sit under a tree rather than come to class.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Then I had a bad day. I was outside on the grass, having plopped my bag down after my philosophy class, grabbed my phone, called my boyfriend, closed my eyes, and laid down on the ground. I was on the verge of crying and he said, \u201cWhat if you skipped Intro today?\u201d To turn my pain into a joke, I responded, \u201cShould I go sit under a tree?\u201d I opened my eyes, and let out a real laugh. I was indeed laying under a tree. I said goodbye to my boyfriend, hung up, and emailed my professor:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\nHi (Professor\u2019s name),<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I\u2019m emailing to let you know I won\u2019t be in class today. I\u2019m taking the time to sit under a tree. I\u2019ll be in class on Thursday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Best,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Daisy<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n
I didn\u2019t get up for the two and a half hours I would\u2019ve been in class. I even wrote poetry. Not the whole time. I laid there, sat up, people-watched, bug-watched. Ate a snack. And I felt better. And my professor was more than fine with it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The internet loves to use the term, \u201ctouch grass,\u201d to tell someone they have been online too long and need to reconnect with the real world and get outside. Connect with nature. It\u2019s even turned into a common hate comment. But I think we do need to touch grass, literally. Feeling nature under our fingers, realizing that we are not (usually) doing something that is life or death. It can wait. (If you\u2019re a first responder, your job is important. But so are you. Find a moment to touch grass with the rest of us who don\u2019t have important jobs.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In a world of AI, social media, dating apps, online school, and computer desk jobs, more of us should be sitting under trees and touching grass. Sit outside on your lunch break. Leave the building on your ten-minute break. Put earbuds in your ears but don\u2019t play music. Let yourself think. Let yourself feel January\u2019s breeze and August\u2019s blistering rays. It\u2019s good for you. It\u2019s good for your community for you to feel better. One May, my professor had poetry class outside on the grass. I wanted to get my notebook out and scribble a few lines about how most of my classmates were twisting grass between our fingers. My friend was making a daisy chain out of dandelions. We had a very productive workshop conversation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I forget, and I know you do too, to take breaks or go outside (or do both together, preferably). Remembering that breaks, nature, and remembering what is important helps you be better at everything! Perfectionism kills progress, ambition, and soul. Nature heals all of that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Go sit under a tree. Leave your laptop at work overnight. Listen to your local birds sing. People watch. Make a daisy chain. It\u2019s all good for you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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