Have you read Goop?
As I've mentioned, I'm a fan of this chic wellness (etc) blog that Gweneth Paltrow publishes. This morning, which ironically is Friday morning, the day I take off to "waste time" (or "enjoy unscheduled time") I was reading an old one of hers and thought:
YES. This is self care.
Thought I'd share a few excerpts with you.
Waste a Little Time- You'll Thank Yourself Later
"The reminder goes off that your son's soccer game starts in half an hour. And you have a conference call starting in a couple minutes (which is when you'll catch up on some lingering emails). That's when your preferred news outlet sends you a push notification that a recent study has found we are spending too much time on our devices.
Our hyperconnected grid and the constant sense of urgency we place on ourselves threatens our mental health, self-identity, and human connections, argues Professor Alan Lightman in his new book, In Praise of Wasting Time.
Lightman believes that "if you don't make time for quiet alone time, you risk losing time to replenish your mind," he says.
"The mind needs to continually rest and have periods of calm. It is essential to our mental health, our well-being, our sense of self, and our world." It's one thing to prescribe it; putting it into practice is another story.
"Wasting time" means time spent without a goal or a schedule.
The purpose of taking time to disconnect from the grid would be to reinstate a sense of mental clarity and calmness, to experience a sense of privacy and solitude, and to gift yourself a time for reflection and contemplation.
A few good examples of "wasting time" would be: taking a quiet walk alone in the woods, sitting quietly in a chair and just letting the mind wander, having a leisurely dinner with friends, playing a game, or doing an activity just for fun. Each of these activities requires you to disengage for a short period of time from the demands of your fast-paced life, allowing you to create a sense of stillness within yourself."
Doesn't that just sound heavenly??
Wellness isn't just about working out, seeking preventative health care like chiro and acupuncture, or obsessively watching our nutrition.
It's so easy to overlook how much of wellness is mental, and that's the fun part!
How can relaxing and watching the birds on the feeder while you drink your coffee be bad for your mental health. Use this moment to visualize that in your life.
And like the author, Dr. Lightman says, put it into practice. Work it into your routine. BTW, I've decided that I don't even need to read his book! I think I get the message.
I'm going to use the hours I would have spent reading it to just waste a little time doing nothing. :)
PS Here's a pic of the sunrise last week in Mexico,where I never opened my computer once.I think I'll make it my screen saver so I don't forget how good that felt.
Tulum, Piedra Escondida Resort.
Be GOOD to yourself!!,
Dr. Rina