(Our villa)
Relaxation, calmness, peace, serenity....are words that sound beautiful and yet are so hard to achieve. Most of us live in a fast paced environment and after a busy summer schedule, I have learned that I must slow down and apply the brake more often. I have a difficult time trying to relax, but I must learn to adapt to more of a “European” lifestyle. I find it absolutely absurd that it is a difficult task to watch television longer than an hour because I’m always thinking of things I can be doing instead! ADHD? No, I just have a difficult time investing in down time.
Having my first summer off, I’ve spent a small amount of time on relaxing. It’s like I’m programmed to be busy when I’m working or not working. I am aware that it is important to spend quality time with others, but I've learned that I NEED to pencil in a lot more time for myself.
I want things to become more structured and I want to start taking the list of classes that I’ve been meaning to take for quite some time now. (Cooking, dance, etc.) It is absolutely euphoric scratching something off of a list that has been on there for a long period of time.
This slight aggravation all came about during the past couple of weeks. While my husband was completing an outdoor task, he called my name and told me to come outside. As I'm walking down the stairs, I'm thinking I have so much to do. I have loads of laundry, I have to call this person back, I need to...... All of this is going through my head as I'm descending down the stairs. And as I stepped outside (probably looking irritated), I gasped. What Tom wanted to show me was a nest in our tree with a mother feeding her babies. I looked up in awe and all of this would've been missed because I am tied up in my house and not taking moments to step outside and appreciate nature and the life that surrounds it.
Another recent incident occurred while I was driving down my block. I looked up at a house and thought that is a cute house....that's ridiculous because I've lived here since October of last year! This is proof to all that I tend to miss out because I have become more tailored to being busy and I need to relax!
Our first year anniversary was memorable for me because we didn't go on a vacation that considers much thought, time, and planning. Instead we opted for an overnight stay at a spa and a week long getaway at the lake house in Wisconsin. Our activities included reading (me), bike riding, golfing (Tom), fishing, playing tennis, relaxing on the boat, and cruising on the jet ski. I found myself taking the time to look around and felt grateful the entire stay for the little gifts. Things I don't normally do at home and why does it take a vacation to indulge and appreciate the little things that life has to offer??
Life is constantly busy and I know that it only gets busier. I’m not saying I’m going to become a hermit, move to an excluded area, and eliminate myself from all future events. That wouldn’t be living. I simply just want to be more of a low key person and slow down a bit. Perhaps I'm bringing on unnecessary stress because I'm not taking much time to relax and have an overdue personal list that needs some attention.
America is a world of its own that contains a high amount of stress and how often do we take time out to enjoy the simple things in life? So take a moment to breathe, look around, listen to soft music, and treat yourself to alone time. Turn off your cell phone that occupies so much of your time! Count your blessings, tell someone that you love them. And partake in something you've been meaning to do for a long time now.
Cheers to a healthier beginning!
