Everything in Moderation…Even Leisure Activities
What I learned from reading too much
One of my favorite authors came out with a new book this month and I have been tied to it for the past few days. I downloaded Elizabeth Gilbert’s (author of Eat, Pray, Love) latest and my intention was that I could listen to it as I walked my dog each day.
What I thought would be something that I picked up for thirty to sixty minutes each day became a little bit of an obsession, and I started taking longer walks, which Maggie loved. I started listening to it as I cooked in the kitchen as well. I noticed that I even started using the time where I would let my mind rest to listen to the next chapter.
I knew it was starting to get a little out of hand, and was not surprised when my dinner companions wondered what was taking so long in the kitchen. Normally, an “Under Ten Minutes” Chef, I started discovering things that required longer preparation times.
What I realized after all these details of the story, was that my mind had a hard time slowing down when I wanted to. When I went to go do a “mind melt” exercise and tried to think of nothing, I couldn’t do it. It felt like there was a thick fog in my brain and I was having a hard time clearing it.
To the rescue came an activity that is helpful in slowing things down, but one that I don’t use very often — massage. By chance, my boyfriend suggested we go since he had a tough week ahead at work and the local place had a last-minute opening. Like yoga, it forces us to stay in one place for an hour at least and calms the mind.
After I walked out of there, I felt more like myself again. My head was clear and I knew that I could rest the brain again, if I needed to. The other good part was that when I picked up my audio book again, I was more aware of the potential “fog”. I not only more consciously stayed in the moment, but also made time to walk Maggie without the tape playing, which helped when I took off the earphones.
Lastly, from this experience, I wondered if many people walk through life continuously processing data — work, radio, tv, etc. and if they were consistently in a state of fog. What a strange way to live and what if one were to lose the ability to shut things off for a few seconds?
With a consistent stream of information consistently being sent our way with smart phones and notifications, I can easily see it happening. If you’ve ever read one of Liz Gilbert’s books, you would know that she would agree that this is no way to live!
