Learning about relaxing
I’m not great at relaxing. Ok, everyone who knows me in face to face life, stop laughing. Maybe its slightly an understatement. Last week I kept biting inside my cheek. I complained about it on Twitter. The always very wise Kate Foy responded with the suggestion that I should get a massage since I was stressed. If the colleague in Australia can see by my tweets that I am stressed, I figured I needed to pay attention.
It was my wedding anniversary last week, so we headed down to Yachats on the Oregon Coast. The night before, we found the Overleaf Lodge and Spa on the web. We couldn’t get massage appointments at the last minute, but it was on the waterfront and had a pool of hot water overlooking the ocean, so we headed down.
Starting to relax
I love the sound of the surf. The area where we visited had waves crashing on rocks. We sat in the spa watching the sun go down over the water. I started to relax. After I got back to our room, I went over to open the window to hear the waves better and shut my finger in the slider. Black stripe on fingernail within moments.
I started to wonder about the relaxation thing.
I decided to relax in front of the fireplace listening to the surf anyway. It was really lovely. I woke up relaxed, and promptly walked into a chair. Kicked it very hard. Lie on the floor moaning hard. Now I have a very black toe to match the stripe on my fingernail.
Now I’m really wondering about this relaxing thing.
When I don’t relax regularly, and then I do, its like suddenly finding myself in someone elses body. I lose sense of where am in space. And I often find the result painful. Its a classic catch-22. Need to relax really bad, relax and damage body parts. I’ve got to find a better way, which probably involves relaxing regularly. I’ve been pretty good about making time for exercise. So carving out more time to do less is a bit counter intuitive, but I’m seeing it needs to be part of this redesigning the day to day life and business.
Not sure when I’m going to have time to get work done with all this taking care of various parts of self. I recognize in theory, I should be way more efficient when I am actually working if I have balance in my life. I’m still skeptical, but I’m continuing the experiment.
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Ah, Christine–I have such a mental image of you trying to relax.
I know exactly what you’re talking about re: building relaxation into your schedule. It’s something I”m struggling with myself so when you figure it out, let me know, please? I need help!
Hi Christine! It’s so important to have some of that do nothing time, especially for creative people, so we can recharge. Maybe for you the needed relaxing isn’t so much snoozing as doing something you enjoy just for fun? So you lose yourself in the moment by doing something different and utterly absorbing? ps I have to tell you I LOVE your orange fish picture.
I don’t think I’ve relaxed in over 18 months, and even when I get the ‘opportunity’ I sit for 2 minutes and then realize that I haven’t done xyz… Its certainly a challenge, as Michele said if you figure it out please let us know!
As for the black toe and finger, luckily it go in threes…
Sleep deprivation does not a good typist make!!! {Slaps forehead}
“As for the black toe and finger, luckily it didn’t happen in threes”
@Michele Martin: Think it might have something to do with our priorities? We certainly don’t seem to have trouble with finding time to work too much…
@Barbara Martin: I do think you have a point there. Can’t ever see me doing the nothing routine, I do like more active forms of relaxing in general. Like all the various forms of artwork. I am finding that a bit harder as my eyes get older
I’m glad you like the fish. They were fun and relaxing.
Like my mother before me, I find it hard to sit and do nothing and unlike my husband I find it hard to take naps during the day.
Ironically, I have now been laid off starting next month, but suddenly I’m even busier! (I meant to write you, but…) Trying to organize my departure from a lifetime in the same job, while writing a proposal to pay for my return to it; starting my own business, and still looking for interesting job options. Tomorrow I’m taking off and what am I thinking about? All sorts of work-related projects like writing up a brochure, writing people I know, making appointments.
I could use that jacuzzi.
@Betsy Hansel: So you are telling me I’m not alone in my relaxing challenge?
Big news, wow. Start-up and shifting are really busy. So many details, so little time. I know I am way ahead of my doing in my thinking and that is far behind what I am actually communicating to others. Part of this redesigning our lives for the next phase?