On Saturday, my lovely wife said to me, “You’re good at
chilling”.
She has always known that although seeing me in my robe, on
our country house terrace, reading a book as kids pranced around helped to give
her the ultimate Gswede “chill” perspective.
My response to her:
“You’re right, I’ve always been.”
Chilling (or in non-slang terms, relaxing) has been
prominent in my life for as long as I can remember.
I’ve always enjoyed my daily “Me Time” or being alone to
relax my mind, body and soul. I also
find moments to relax on the rare occasions when I’m around stressful people or
chaotic situations. My life wouldn’t be
as serene without the precious time I make to relax.
Even when you’re not alone, it’s not difficult to relax if
you know how to do it.
Even with small kids, it’s possible although you need to be
a “Michael Jordan” level relaxer to accomplish that. Some of my best and most relaxing
moments have been alone with my children.
Deepak's words convey the importance::
Relaxation is the prerequisite
For that inner
expansion that allows a person
To express the
source of inspiration and joy within
(
Deepak Chopra)
The happiest and most well adjusted friends/acquaintances in
my inner circle are master relaxers. They inspire me.
In addition, (and maybe most importantly), they are relaxed
around their children which can only be a positive for nurturing a low stress
and well balanced child
The aforementioned group also takes care of themselves FIRST
as they know that they are able to serve others best if their soul is joyful
and their mind clear despite life’s challenges.
If you asked them what are their top priorities, making time to relax
would be near or at the top of their list.
As we all have seen, some people never seem to relax which
probably stems from a variety of elements including but not limited to growing
up with parents who more often than not kept them “doing something” instead of
letting them learn to discover the beauty of relaxation or being a bit bored.
Boredom is something we all have to confront in life yet so
many modern day parents with young children choose to keep their kids doing, doing and doing instead
of giving them the freedom to deal with boredom or discover the adventure of life on their
own.
In my opinion, one of the best ways to relax is to let the “To
Do” list wait. Doing so may ruffle some feathers or not sit well with the
husband or girlfriend so keep that in mind.
That “To do” list will always be full in our hectic worlds
so why not take the chance now and then to relax (especially if alone)
instead of laborinng with tasks that are often tedious.
You might not want to take the “The Art of the Chill” to my
level though as my wife recently said, “Sometimes you chill TOO MUCH”. She’s right.....I need to work on that!
If you’re not someone who has mastered “The Art of the
Chill”, I implore you to improve or seek help to learn. If you can’t relax, what message/lesson do you
think that sends to your children and/or loved ones? And we know that being unable to relax isn’t
a positive for anyone’s health.
If you care about “expressing the source of inspiration and
joy within” that Deepak so eloquently writes about, then relaxing needs to be a
part of your daily life in some form or fashion.
If not, your true happiness will probably stay hidden
beneath the surface and your soul will be bubbling with anticipation for the
joy to emerge.
One way to relax is to “Master your Me Time”. A link to my article on the subject is below.
Whatever you choose to do, if you care about YOU, find a way
to relax.
Happy Gswede Sunday!
No comments:
Post a Comment