I was thinking (out loud) with my daughter in the car about being busy. I had just filed a brief, finished a conference call, picked her up, was calling the doctor for a refill on a prescription and was catching up on her day. At some point I turned to her and said, “I wonder what it would be like to have nothing to do for one whole day.” She, as you might expect, laughed out loud!
She imagined such a day and said that if I had nothing to do I would go to the grocery store, work out twice, do the laundry, clean the house, work, etc., etc. I had to admit, she was right.
Why is it so difficult to have a day of nothing? I know we all have stuff to do but a day where we force ourselves to just read, take a walk, catch a nap or two? Sounds amazing!
So, let me admit yet another “issue” of mine: I like to be busy. I might complain or get a bit exhausted at times but I do like getting things done (and I always seem to have a lot of things!), which means I don’t relax as much as I should. I can relax on vacations — I do have a vague memory of vacations where I did actually sleep, eat and relax! Maybe in the right setting, with the right person(s) … but at home? Hard to imagine.
In order for me to even get started, I’d first have to send my kids away for the day. There is no way I can do nothing with the kids around. Second, I’d have to have all my other stuff done so that I wouldn’t have to worry or want to work on other things around the house. Then, I’d need it to rain because if it’s nice outside, I want to run, bike or do one of the million things that need to get done in our yard. See what I mean?
How are all these stars going to be aligned so I can get some relaxation time? I’m not sure. A friend of mine does it and I think it’s because he’s able to make that mental switch to relax no matter where he is. For me, I think I am going to have to take a vacation in order to really relax! I’ll put it on my “to-do” list!
Until then, I will have to keep up the yoga. One of these days I’ll stop counting the ceiling tiles at the end and actually relax!
Have a calm (or busy) day, whichever you prefer!
theyearof50 