You don't need a big personality to fit in out here

There is a specific kind of knot that forms in your stomach when you sign up for something new.

You’ve seen a notice for a walk, or someone has suggested a day out, and a part of you really wants to go. But then the quiet worries start creeping in. What if everyone else knows each other? What if I have to be ‘on’ the whole time? What if I just want to walk and not talk?

If you are someone who naturally sits on the sidelines, watches quietly, or needs a bit of time to warm up to new faces, you belong out here just as you are.

Somewhere along the line, we’ve been given the impression that getting out of the house and meeting new people requires us to be bubbly, outgoing, and ready to share our life story within five minutes of arriving. It can feel exhausting just thinking about it. For a lot of us, the expectation of forced small talk is enough to make us stay firmly on the couch.

But here is the beautiful thing about spending time outside with others: nature does a lot of the heavy lifting for us.

When you are walking down a track, you don't have to maintain constant eye contact. You don’t have to scramble to fill every pause in the conversation. You can just look at the trees. You can watch a blue wren hopping through the undergrowth, or listen to the crunch of gravel under your boots.

Silence doesn't feel awkward out here. It just feels peaceful.

That is why these shared experiences are designed the way they are. There is absolutely no pressure to perform. If you join us for a day out and want to chat the entire way, that’s wonderful. But if you want to turn up, say hello, and then walk in quiet contemplation for the next hour, that is equally wonderful.

Gathering together doesn't always have to be loud. Sometimes, the most comforting feeling in the world is simply being around other people, going at your own pace, without any expectation to be anyone but yourself.

Next time you see an invitation to get outside and feel that familiar hesitation, remember that you don't need to bring a big personality. You just need to bring yourself.