Buck the shopping trend on Black Friday and go outside.

In a twist on conspicuous consumption, outdoor equipment retailer REI has a great idea that we at Felix Neck fully endorse. Go outside instead of hitting the mall.

In their award-winning Black Friday campaign started last year, REI will close all of their 143 stores and pay their employees to take the day off and enjoy outdoor pursuits. And this year more than 475 other retailers and organizations have joined in!

What a concept! Scientist and outdoor guy E. O. Wilson knows the value of a day exploring, explaining that “Nature holds the key to our aesthetic, intellectual, cognitive and even spiritual satisfaction.”

So, forget those big box retailers and remind yourself that lots of stuff will not make you happy. Wise old Socrates concurred noting, “He is richest who is content with the least, for content is the wealth of nature.”

Though to be fair and encourage local shopping, if you must buy, do it with the small businesses, artisans, and mom and pop shops on and off-Island.

The Friday after Thanksgiving, is known as the kick off of the holiday shopping season and has been since the early 1930s. It is arguably the most profitable day of the year for retailers, though it is likely neck and neck with the Saturday before Christmas for that honor.

Black Friday was first used to describe a financial havoc, rather than a shopping mayhem. In September, 1869, the U.S. gold market crashed, sending the stock market into a free fall and bankrupting many.

The phrase came into the public’s vernacular as the day after Thanksgiving craziness in the 1950s when it was used in Philadelphia to describe the bedlam that ensued when shoppers, tourists, and even sports aficionados descended on the city for fun and the annual Army/Navy football game.

Local police officers were forbidden to take the day off as they were kept busy with fights, injuries and vehicle accidents caused by the wily fans and day trippers. With the crowds and confusion, shoplifting also was a cause of the long shifts for the police. City merchants tried to change the term to Big Friday, to make it more positive but we know that didn’t catch on.

The name Black Friday spread and by the late 1980s, retailers were owning it and creating great sales and great conflicts. There have been seven reported deaths and 98 injuries associated with Black Friday sales and specials since 2006. The shopping event has morphed into a multiple day affair with stores even opening on Thanksgiving Day to tempt, and sometimes bring out the worst, in bargain hunters.

REI’s campaign’s tag line, “Will you go out with us,” is an invitation we hope you can’t resist. It will bring everyone more gratification, health and happiness than a day fighting off the sale seekers. And don’t we all need a little something right now to take the edge off?

If you won’t take our advice, heed the words of Anne Frank who knew, “The best remedy for those who are afraid, lonely or unhappy is to go outside, somewhere where they can be quiet, alone with the heavens, nature and God. Because only then does one feel that all is as it should be.”

Suzan Bellincampi is director of the Felix Neck Wildlife Sanctuary in Edgartown, and author of Martha’s Vineyard: A Field Guide to Island Nature.