But lives can be on a continual drive to get to the next point and beyond, and sometimes people push themselves to the point where a healthy amount of adrenaline tips over and leads to total exhaustion. That isn't a healthy place to be and there needs to be a balance between learning how to relax and recharge so that we can then pick up the drive and go forward.
I sometimes see my life as a car engine. I am no mechanic, but I am aware that petrol drives my little Smart Car. If I drive for a long distance without filling up with petrol I run the car down and it stops. When I forget to look at the oil levels my little bug gets over heated, coughs a lot and packs up. The lack of petrol stops me, but the oil wrecks the engine and leaves me with a heavy garage bill to pick up.
If we have a heavy week with no breaks we crash at the weekend; we sleep for most of it and recharge with enough juice to just about get to the next weekend. But this continual heaviness leads us to run out of life's oil and we then crash and burn. Our bodies need regular breathing places to catch up in the output of life.
If you are a person who charges up on energy with people, I am not asking you to go and meditate under a tree as this will just cause you stress. Instead, how about getting a friend or work colleague to go and sit in the park and have lunch together. Chuck a frisbee around; walk to the coffee shop together and talk about something other than work; meet up after the school run and go for a walk; sit in the garden with a tea and chat. Or why not take in a Thai Chi class at lunch? You don't have to be on your own, your body and mind just needs to rest from the grind and the adrenaline spikes that you run off.
If you do like to be quite on your own and feel comfortable recharging in your own company, why don't you try something like taking a longer walk from the car or train to the office? You could sit in your garden or balcony and write a letter to a friend; put a CD on that relaxes you and just watch the clouds go by. If you want to be totally on your own, sit in a comfortable place and listen to the bird song for a bit.
None of these recharging times need to be long! I don't think having 90mins in the middle of the day to listen to bird song is practical for many people, but just making sure you get a good break on a daily basis may make the difference to the way you feel.
It's such a loss of a weekend to just crash and burn on a Saturday morning as you are missing two days where you could explore new things! Just imagine enjoying a coffee and pastry early on a Saturday morning and going for a walk to get the papers before the majority of the town is up and about. It's such a special time that it's a shame to miss it just because you are over reaching yourself during the week.So try it today; choose one thing that will make you feel alive but relaxed. I am going to go for a walk down by the river before my day starts in the treatment room. What are you going to do?
