Life moves fast, and if you miss it, it could slip by without you witnessing it to the best of your ability. The job, the spouse, the children, the pet all play roles in taking our time away from us. Luckily, the family is one of the time sinks that is worth more the more time you put into it, but sometimes it can feel like you don’t spend enough one on one time with them.
If you’re an overachiever or have simply worked hard for years upon years, it might be fruitful for you to take a few weeks of rest this summer. Call it your ‘summer of chill.’ Record predicted temperatures all state that the heatwaves we’re to face will give us plenty of legitimate reason to rest on our laurels.
Famous writer Charles Bukowski once advocated that people spend three days once every six months or so ‘resting in bed,’ with no stimulation, no conversation, just sleeping and rolling around in comfort – only waking to fix simple food and water and to upkeep necessary hygiene requirements. He stated that it sounded crazy, but if properly applied, a person could feel rejuvenated beyond their years, and if this caught on, people would hail Bukowski as a genius.
This sounds amazing on the surface; there have surely been times in your career where you’ve thought about spending half a week between the bedsheets yourself. Unfortunately, this isn’t practical for most people. Lying in bed is all very well when there are bills to pay, children to look after. Upon closer examination, it’s apparent that Bukowski’s prescription was ideal for a writer without responsibility and hardly applicable to us in the modern world.
However, this needn’t mean you need to worry about never being able to unwind again. There are plenty of practical yet indulgent solutions to help you foster that feeling of ‘chill,’ and to slowly smooth yourself out after months of tension and target setting at the office. But how do you do so?
Well, with these handy tips:
Book A Break
The first and most obvious suggestion on our list is for you to book a holiday break. Instead of the same sunny beaches, why not find somewhere else conducive to relaxing that will be suitable for both you and your children?
Sunny beaches are always relaxing to think about, but less relaxing to attend, especially when they are so busy in the heat of the summer. Instead, why not book a holiday in a relaxing nature park? Here, you’ll be able to rent a log cabin and be right in the middle of nature, but in a secure and gated community. There will be spa tables, craft activities, playtime adventures for the children, and beautiful walks to travel down at dusk.
Spa Day
A spa day can be the crowning jewel in your ability to relax. If you find that you’re always tense, uptight and likely to feel stressed at the little situations, it might be worth the time to hire a natural spa masseuse to help you go through the entire process they offer, from Japanese back -walking all the way to gentle acupuncture. A spa knows how to best bring about feelings of ASMR and transcendent relaxation, dependent on where you go.
Garden Hot Tubs
There’s no doubt that a hot tub has the power to bring you complete and total relaxation. Hot tub bubbles have a magical effect to make the occupier almost melt into the seat within (but in a good way.) But asking someone to install a hot tub themselves or head to the local swimming pool to share it with random strangers is asking a little too much for when it comes to your ability to relax thoroughly? Never fear, for the SaluSspa Palm Springs inflatable hot tub will allow you to gain that coveted hot tub experience with an easy setup and little mess.
Just be sure that you deflate it when required, and cover the water at night to prevent insects or leaves from getting in. You should also prepare to spend a majority of your summer within this hot tub when you realize how convenient relaxing has now become.
Craft A ‘Chill Zone.’
If you have a spare room that is otherwise unused or being used for basic storage, why not utilize the space? Craft it into an area that allows you to relax unimpeded when the children are at school or are playing with their friends. Make sure that in this room, no considerations of house work or responsibility are overtly applied.
This could be a great place to take up a new hobby like playing an instrument or practicing your arts and crafts skills. As we get through life and the responsibilities pile up in a way that is seemingly correlated to the numerical value of your age, cultivating a hobby in your free time is more important than ever before. This could be as simple as reading if you have the time to spare. Be sure that your entire life doesn’t solely comprise of duty, but of beauty too.
Establish A Video Game Community
If you’re a middle-aged parent, this might run counter to the advice you think you’d have read in this article. Years ago, there would have been truth to this, but nowadays, there isn’t. Video games are becoming more and more universally available, and attractive to people from all walks and stages of life.
If you have a group of friends, who are also similarly occupied during their daily life, spending an evening or two every fortnight with a community of your real-life peers playing accessible and easy-to-pickup games like Rocket League can help you blow off some steam in safe, harmless way. It will also mean that you’re available to tend to the needs of your children if they cry out during the evening. To keep your community together, consider using a free chat room program such as the ever-increasing in popularity Discord. This will allow you to keep a persistent instant messaging platform to keep in touch with all the friends you struggle to make time for.
Yoga
If video games are sincerely not your preference, it might serve you well to get back in touch with your body instead. Yoga is an ancient Vedic tradition that, well taught, will help you relax into your being and stay present at all times while practicing difficult to accomplish stretches. Yoga will improve your posture, radically increase your flexibility, lower your stress and overall give you the keys to make you a better, more relaxed person. Disciplines usually work this way, but Yoga is the most effective by a considerable margin.
Reiki
Reiki, an art focussed on the sensual massaging and exploration of your ‘spiritual comfort zones,’ has been labeled as similar to ‘spiritual surgery.’ This is a holistic and multi-faceted combination of massage techniques that function on the assumption that the body holds energies that can be manipulated and soothed. This is supposed to help restore physical, mental and emotional well-being.
If you’re not a fan of the new-age spiritual jargon that accompanies Reiki, you can still glean some value from it. There are many Reiki practitioners offering services for people who don’t believe in the spiritual practice behind it. Whatever you believe, there is zero doubt that Reiki will help you relax and unwind as you have dreamed of doing the past stressful years.
Meditation
Meditation is one of the best tools to unwind that there is. What’s best is that it’s portable, always available, anchored by breath and available to everyone. To begin, all you need is to find a quiet place and focus on the intake of breath through your nostrils. Focus on the feeling of your inhale and exhale, and try to aim for 10 minutes a day. Your life will revolutionize internally if you do.
Children
Most of this list has been concerned with activities outside of your family that can help you unwind and craft that perfect ‘summer of chill’ that is so coveted. In order to become better in our daily lives, it’s important that we understand how to chill where our family is concerned too. Spend more time with your children, and lazily waste afternoons with them conducting silly activities that will help you bond. The beauty of children is their ability to never conform to any standard adult discourse and social norms. A silly sound to them is as fantastic as a sandcastle. As we get older, we can forget this, but we must remember that we were once children too. Never be afraid to be silly with your children. Doing so will help you unwind and allow you to stay grounded in your role as an adult. Our children couldn’t give us a greater gift than that.
No matter what you choose, it’s likely that a few of these methods adopted into your summer schedule will allow you to feel rejuvenated for the time your career beckons, with its myriad of duties just waiting. Taking a load off now will help you return with gusto, vitality and charm. So what are you waiting for?
