Taking a Break

The wild dash between Thanksgiving and the New Year is crammed full of events and parties and meetings and work and lists and decorating and planning and… phew! When do we get a break? It’s amazing that year after year, we fill our calendars to overflowing. Many of us need a vacation – even a virtual one will do.

Actually, at this time of year, I find myself struggling with a lot of inertia. Remember the tendency of a body that in motion to stay in motion or the tendency of a body at rest to stay at rest? Either I’m on a roll, getting a zillion things done without a pause for a breath or I’m dozing through several recorded TV programs.  What I really want is to be happily aware of what I am doing in such a way that I actually enjoy it in the moment.

This time of year, I take a virtual vacation every morning when I come to my computer. There’s a webcam in Yosemite that shows me the current state of Half Dome. It’s the most wonderful way to start my work day. If you love snow, you might go to http://yosemite.org/vryos/sentinelcam.htm and breathe in the beauty!

I keep designing delicious breaks in my day – and it’s not always food, although I do love going to the produce market, so I take a break by doing that. I also love watching the birds at the feeder, so I eat my grapefruit at the kitchen sink where I can watch them squabbling over the sunflower seeds. Taking a break for me sometimes means that I cancel something I’ve planned to do, even something I want to do. On Saturday night, we had a fun party to attend. On Friday we performed the second concert in this set and there was a party afterward. Then on Sunday there was another concert to perform and another party to attend. What I needed on Saturday was some peace and quiet and so I sent regrets that we are such old farts that we can’t attend three parties in a row. Too bad too, I’ll bet it was a fabulous event. I did enjoy sitting next to Jim as we both caught up on our reading.

Weekly Activity

I usually suggest that clients make a list of things they love to do so that when they need a break, they don’t have to spend time trying to figure out how to get one. You could create lists in several categories:

• Virtual vacations which are memories or pictures that remind you to take some deep breaths and enjoy a peaceful state.
• Actual activities, such as walking to a special place or playing music and dancing.
• Sitting quietly and doing nothing but breathing.
• Remembering people, books, movies, and events that you appreciate.
• Make the next few weeks as hassle free as possible. It’s a great way to get ready for next year’s promises!

© 2006, Jacqueline Hale