There is more to life than increasing its speed. ~Ghandi
Last week I had the opportunity to take a few days off work to go on a ski trip. It was absolutely fantastic!! I loved being in the fresh mountain air exercising my body, laughing with people, and having fun skiing in light, fluffy powder. I couldn’t believe it was early April and the snow could be so good!!
It got me thinking about work-life balance and managing stress. Sometimes the speed of life gets going without us even noticing it and we go with it because we can. Although we may be enjoying life in our jobs, having some time to slow down and take some time for ourselves can be the best relaxation therapy.
What do you do to slow down? Doe it help you to manage stress? Having some time to slow down is really important because it helps remind us what’s important. It offers us the opportunity to connect with the people that are important to us, to connect with the place we live, to connect with our food, and to do some things that give us a sense of purpose or just feel damn good because they’re fun or enjoyable.
In our fast paced lives, it’s easy to end the day by plunking ourselves down in front of the TV with some packaged food because we’re just too darn tired to cook. We sit and munch on crap we may or may not be really enjoying and wonder why we don’t really feel any more rested in the morning.
Suppose you decided to keep the TV off and so something else with your off time, what would you do? What’s something small you could do that would help you relax and feel a sense of satisfaction as well?
Suppose you decided to make a simple meal using whole food ingredients, what difference would that make? What difference would it make to connect with a friend, family member or neighbor, even for a short period of time? What difference would it make to pick up that hobby and work on it for a short while?
The flow of life goes on whether we’re going at a break-necking speed or taking time to relax, rejuvenate, and connect. What would you prefer?
What’s something small you could do today that might help, even in the smallest of ways, to relax or create some measure of balance?
I’d be interested in hearing your comments!
