Happy Memorial Day To You……
Sorry, couldn’t resist. I have a naughty sense of humor.
My guilty pleasure is lying around doing a whole lot of nothing or watching bad TV, like the Housewives of every county or state, bad (don’t judge). I know you’re supposed to take time out for yourself, ideally, on a daily basis, but I don’t know anyone who actually does this, and I don’t think watching smutty television counts, not that it can’t be fun. I struggle to find time, and I don’t even have kids to worry about. It’s just me, the Hubby and the felines. Before you make the obvious suggestion to turn off the television, I’ve hardly turned it on lately. I still have the season finale of Grey’s Anatomy and Desperate Housewives trapped in my DVR, begging to be watched.
On the rare occasion when I do take the time to just relax and do nothing, I fight with my conscience because I feel guilty. During these down periods, nothing gets checked off a list, so nothing gets accomplished. That’s how my brain works, and you trying arguing with my brain. But, this idle time allows me to recharges my batteries, mentally and physically, which only makes me a better person or at least nicer to be around. The Hubby is a big advocate of nicer Meghan. Now, if I decide to do nothing all day, every day, then we have a problem. I’m guessing the Hubby would have an intervention, but every so often, we need some lazy days to simply sit back and enjoy life. So, I think I’ll start by adding down time to my weekend To Do lists.
Another great relaxation technique is meditation, but this one is tough. I can sit idle in a sun patch only if I have a book to read, a nap to take or music to listen to, but ask me to sit still with just my crazy thoughts for company, ping ponging away…Eek. I have one of those erratic brains, where unless I’m sleeping, it never seems to shut up….”Don’t forget to pick up the dry cleaning, need peanut butter, must make energy bites, catch up on DVR, rotate the laundry, call mother, father, brother,” and the list goes on and on. A friend recently told me I had a touch of adult ADD. The nerve of her, but I will say quieting my brain is like taming a beast (I use this term to impress upon you the craziness of my brain, more so than my intellectual prowess).
Which is why meditation might actually be good for me. Still, I struggle. I started by down loading the Mindful Meditation App on my iPhone, and yes I do see the irony behind using my over stimulating mobile device to calm my self-abused brain. But, it actually worked…the handful of times I tried. The App has timed meditations, so I started out with 5 minutes (baby steps) and success. Then I got cocky and moved on to the 10 minute. But, I couldn’t sit still and focus on absolutely nothing for sooooo long (in mediation you clear you mind, so the focus truly is nothing). I started to twitch, the cats go involved because they thought I was playing. Long story short, I crashed and burned, and I haven’t tried it since, and this was back in January. I’m not a big fan of doing things I’m not good at (bad sport, I know), but weekly mediation is on my 2012 New Year’s Resolution’s List (yes, I have a list), so I’m in a quandary. I have to check things off the list, so I think it just might be time to step up, or sit down as the case may be, and try it again. Hell, it’s only 5 minutes, and if I can’t find 5 minutes to relax, then I’ve got bigger fisher to fry, and it would be nice to silence my brain, even momentarily.
Look Ma, no hands.
Maybe if I do it long enough, I can learn to hover like this guy. That would be cool.
Great post for May 28th. I meditate every week- you should come with me with one time.