Ah... so I am finally done with my summer courses, and can relax for the last three weeks of summer before school starts again..
This is what should have gone through my head.
However, the instant that i took my final, my mind zoooooooomed to the next topic.. what am I going to do today? What about tomorrow? I have to schedule my 23940824 events to fit in before I go back to school RIGHT now before I even leave campus. I have to get groceries, see Michelle, Meghan, Julia. Oh yea, and I have to find a way to make money.
How come my brain is trained, to NEVER have a minute to just sit, and breathe. Perhaps I am odd and it is much easier for some people to relax, however, comparing myself to much of my friends, I see that it is not uncommon.
In modern society, the boundary between work and play is ambiguous, and no one really truly can ever leave their "work", or "planning" behind when they go home. The second they go home they have to plan Tommy's christening, do the laundry, make invitations, cook dinner, maintain relationships. WHY do we put SO much pressure on ourselves, when life would be a lot easier to just relax? Why do we constantly need plans, and pressures, and always have stuff to worry about, when it is so easy to just eliminate them by saying no?
Plans gives us assurance. It makes us feel important because frankly, by having plans, it means you are with people, which means that people like you, which is usually most peoples goals in life, to maintain healthy friendships. Then how come planning becomes so stressful? Because of all of the new technology out! The iphones, the blackberries, the ipads.. even my rinky dink 2 year old phone, you can't buy anymore without the internet being mandated. All of these technologies are inhibiting one of our most natural tendencies, to relax, and sometimes, to even sleep.
Not only do these technologies trigger unhealthy endorphins and attitudes in our minds, they also legitimately never let any one JUST sit and read the newspaper outside. Think about it, when was the last time you just SAT and listened to music for an hour, or even drove without thinking of what you wanted to watch on tv, see who had updated their twitter. All of these things are POISON, but I am most guilty of it! Look I am a blogger and a tweeter!
Contemplating your worries in a crowded area (whether with other people, or if it is technology), won't let you successfully evaluate and weigh out your worries, which therefor make your MORE worried.
So how do we relax? How do we escape from all of the technologies, plans, pressures, to want to be accepted, to be doing the right thing, to be "in" with the new iphones. We can't do both, it truly is not physically possible. To be free, you must relax and find your own way to relax. Whatever it is that takes you to being just you, in the moment, find five, ten minutes a day, to just escape there. Even if it is just turning off your phone for ten minutes, and playing with your dog, it will be a peaceful ten minutes. We need our quiet time, and the beeps buzzes and bumps are the road bump in the way of successfully attaining quality R&R that some of us haven't experienced in years!
One of the most noticeable aspects of 2010 parenting, is that kids follow their parents. They look up to their parents, and even if parents never truly tell kids how to spend their relaxation time, they look at their parents when they are at home, and mimic what they do. "Well dad relaxes by watching tv, drinking a beer, and being sucked in by his blackberry... so that must be how to relax". Teens cant come up with this on their own, its a mirror image. Then the parent gets mad for the teen being on their phone/gameboy/iphone too much. Okay, well you are setting the example! Megan Vivo, author or Aspen education group says, "Teens are accustomed to a fast-paced lifestyle and are in a rush to grow up. In order to actually grow up instead of just acting grown up, teens need guidance from their parents". Rather than sitting in front of the tv, or surfing the web together, go for a walk, go to yoga, play a game.
Teens in 2010 are pretty much doomed. When I was born in 1990, computers were a rarity and cell phones were unknown. When my parents were born in 1960, type writers were common and tvs were a rarity. Now in 2010, NOT having a smart phone is a rarity, and R&R is unknown. I agree, it is hard to escape and just not have the phone, and not follow the trends. It would be impossible not to. What i am saying is to just put those things down for a minute, show your kids how to relax from when you were growing up, and what quality sitting back with your feet on the couch really feels like.
