Every year people retreat indoors at the first nip in the air, not recognizing that this is exactly when they should be outside more, enjoying the sunlight even as it wanes.

Maybe this year will be different, but on a warm day in October, Riverside Park had dramatically fewer people using it than were there in June.

The mosquitoes aren’t out in swarms anymore. Birds are plentiful, from cardinals to cormorants to hawks.

It’s not so hot that you sweat before you even start walking.

If you forget to bring water, it (probably) won’t be the end of the world.

There are still people rowing and playing on the sportsball field, but the picnic tables and grills are not abuzz as they were.

You can once again walk on the wooded trails and not see another person for an hour.

The trails beyond the railroad bridge have grown narrower than they were in June, a sign that fewer people are using them.

I say it every year: get outside, stay outside.

This time, it feels even more important.

Most of the partial lockdown in Connecticut was experienced during pleasant weather. We had few rainy days. There was no reason for most people to not go outside and take walks.

Many people had more time to spend in nature. Even for those who continued to work, but did so remotely, the time not spent in commute was extra personal time during each day.

We saw lots of people decide to try hiking for the first time, and seeing their first summit, seeing them overcome various challenges — the “seeing” taking place via Instagram or Facebook, or documented in long, winding emails — has been heartening.

There is a Viktor Frankl quote that has resonated so much since March: “Everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms—to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances.”

We absolutely have that choice.

For those unfamiliar, Frankl made that observation as a Holocaust survivor.

We can choose to actively fill our days with meaning, to find ways to contribute to society. During a pandemic, we can choose to develop new hobbies or return attention to our existing ones. We can get around to reading that stack of books on the nightstand. We can enjoy the beauty of our planet. Except for on the wettest or windiest of days, we can soak up our sun, our trees, our air. Sometimes we need to wear more fabric to make that safe, and sometimes that fabric is worn over our noses and mouths.

That’s not denying the horror of what has happened and is happening; it’s making a choice in where to dwell.