An Invitation to Step Outside

When I was growing up, the question “Do you want to step outside?” was usually a euphemism used in B movies for "do you want to fight?” That was when people still used euphemisms, when politeness even applied (sometimes) to threats of violence. These days, not so much.

But step outside has other meanings too (just google the phrase or ask ChatGPT), such as taking a break (mentally or physically) or getting outside of your comfort zone. Or just getting outside of your head—smelling the roses, so to speak. Admittedly roses are hard to come by these days, although thorns seem to be in abundance.

There is a song I loved in the late sometimes great 1960s called “Take a Giant Step.” I first heard it sung by the fabulous faux group The Monkees when I was in elementary school. Later, when I was in high school, I learned that the song had been written by Carole King along with her then-husband Gerry Goffin when they were grinding out pop tunes in the Brill Building (you may want to google that too).

And then it was recorded by the coolest of cool Taj Mahal, repackaged as an old-timey folk tune, complete with banjo accompaniment. What a salve for the soul that recording was, and is, and ever shall be.

We live in a world of never forget. Depending on the reason, this can also be exhausting. And not always productive.

In an episode of Star Trek (the original series), Mr. Spock made a rare show of pragmatic, but genuine, human emotion. Captain Kirk was dealing with an unbearable sense of grief. Spock reached out to him figuratively and literally, saying one word—"forget."

It has been said that when ignorance is bliss, 'tis folly to be wise. I say, sometimes, when forgetting is bliss, or at least relief, 'tis folly to remember. We are inundated by so much noise these days—disinformation, misinformation, spin, concepts, theories. Sometimes we just need to take a deep breath. Pause. Exhale. Repeat. No matter who we are, where we live, or what political views we have. Red or blue, me or you. The noise keeps us from hearing each other. The noise keeps us from listening.

Today, try to find someone you don’t agree with and listen to them. Try not to be convinced that you are right and they are wrong, or the other way around. Just listen, without ridicule or judgment or rage. You might be surprised by what you hear. If you listen long enough, you might even hear Taj Mahal, softly singing,

“There is just no percentage in remembering the past

It's time you learned to live again and love at last

Come with me, leave your yesterday behind

And take a giant step outside your mind.”

Source: Pixabay/Pexels

That would be what Neil Armstrong called “one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind.”