Who didn’t work hard to convince a teacher or two to hold class outside, or if the school structure allowed, open the windows to let in that fresh air back in the day? We assumed that the teacher had burned through this urge for space and freshness and newly growing things as he or she passed into adulthood. Now we know that assumption was wrong. Spring is quite distracting to all living things, and adults are far from immune despite our knowledge of responsibility and obligation.
The world around us is waking back up and turning a lovely pale green, why would I want to look at spreadsheets and answer customer calls? And that smell of spring – moist earth and plants waking up to sprout new shoots. Pish-posh to the afternoon meeting prep.
All of these modern buildings with the windows that give us a view, but don’t open to let our other senses share in the joy of spring, the balminess of the breezes, carrying the scent, and the warmth of the sun on upturned faces. Subject to conditioned and re-conditioned air that hasn’t been exposed to the elements, only man-made filters – I want to use my Wi-Fi sitting on the bench outside, under the tree whose buds are growing and will burst out with leaves soon.
Pah to fabric half walls and shades of beige coated drywall – we crave bark on craggy trees, grass reverting from dormancy and squishing underfoot, birds chirping and building nests. Who can think of dollar-cost averaging when its spring?
© 2013 Practical Business | Reasonable Expectations
Practical Business 
Just yesterday I was lamenting buildings with windows that don’t open as my husband and I were preparing his office walls for a coat of paint. Yes, we are covering up the blah institutional beige that dominates the space. Why is a space where people spend a large part of their waking hours not made to be more pleasant, not made to stimulate the senses as you point out? Seems a shame and a missed opportunity to me. So, because his institution doesn’t, we are going to instead! 🙂
Excellent way to take charge! Color is so important, we don’t want to offend but we don’t have to go to beige. Thanks for reading and commenting.