This past weekend I went up to our cabin in the woods with some friends to upgrade our atrocious solar system into something that actually works.
I know doing manual labour on a roof isn’t everyone’s idea of the perfect weekend, but for me it was outstanding.
I watched the birds fly over the lake during the day and listened to the frogs croak in it at night.
Saturday night it rained, and we woke up to the most wonderful smelling northern air.
I got attuned to the sounds of the forest to hear every little critter scurry around and could hear the sound as the leaves that fell from the trees hit the ground.
Most of all, it was a weekend where everything didn’t feel busy.
Of course, we had work to do, and we simply moved at a steady pace and got it done.
There was no rushed, anxious feeling.
Not hearing the phone buzz for the next thing someone needs from me.
And only 2 things on the to-do list – work on solar and enjoy ourselves – and we succeeded at both.
As I’m thinking about it now, it was the opposite feeling of a typical “busy” day, week, or even year.
When you ask people how they’re doing, you hear “I’m just busy” more and more. You probably say it yourself.
It’s a challenge to fit in a workout, eat healthy, and get to bed on time, let alone time for play or to recharge.
Instead, we stress eat, hit “next episode” on Netflix, and hormonally are in a state of chronic, elevated stress, leading to increased levels of body fat, a weakened immune system, and is linked to a myriad of other issues such as hypertension, high blood pressure, and diabetes.
When did life get so full we struggled to slow down and care for ourselves?
Today’s video is about mindfulness, slowing down, reducing stress, and ultimately getting more done with more happiness.
