It's not often that as adults, we get to escape the everyday and simply relax. We have families, jobs, schedules to keep up with and endlessly mounting lists of things to do, responsibilities to keep up with. I certainly do. It's hard to allow ourselves to think that we should take some time out for the sole purpose of self indulgence, self discovery or awareness, or God forbid...REST!
When is the last time you took a day or two and ran away with yourself, your spouse or a good friend? I'm betting most people reading this are thinking back to senior week in high school, or maybe spring break in college? But, maybe some of you have been lucky and dare I say, smart, to grab a mini vacay at any chance and if that's the case, I salute you!
I'm an avid Pinterest browser. I'm admittedly addicted to pinning quotes, things I find well said, things I find to be inspiring, things I find to drive home a point or resonate with a truth I have come to know. I remember pinning a quote once, "Stop the glorification of busy." and I thought to myself, "Yes. Do." Because I have been guilty of filling my life up with busy-ness. I have been known to have trouble with the word "no". I've wanted to be pleasing and give whatever I could to those I care about. The trouble was that eventually, I didn't enjoy giving as much. I felt drained. That didn't change the fact that I wasn't good at "no", so what did I do to rectify that situation? I filled my own life up with so many things that I literally had no choice but to say no to things at times. Not necessarily an effective means of finding balance. I think many of us find ourselves in that same position, not sure how to give happily and balance our own needs in the midst of this being busy thing.
Thinking of our own needs is selfish. Wanting to escape our regular life seems irresponsible in the midst of all of our obligations. Taking time out from what stresses us out makes us feel guilty, especially if we know that those around us who also have stress and hardships in their lives may not be able to escape them at this moment. It's hard to resolve to take care of yourself for a minute first, before everything else. Can I ask you something, though? If you don't, who will?
It's not very likely that someone is going to come up and tell you, "Hey, it's your turn. Go take your break from everyday life and I'll see you on the flip side." It doesn't work that way. Under most normal circumstances, someone is not going to make arrangements for your time away, lining up substitution for your role in everyday life to care for your responsibilities and priorities....i.e. your job, your pets, your kids, your schoolwork and so on. It's likely that you do quite a bit in your everyday life without even giving it much thought. No one is going to say you have "x" amount of time and money to get away and refresh your perspective. Okay, maybe once in a blue moon you have this kind of surprise thrown your way and God bless the person in your life who can make that happen because that must mean they really care about your well being and have a sense of how important it is to find a resting place in what can often be chaos.
Know this: YOU are so important. Without even realizing it, you may very well be the world to someone. You may affect many lives on a regular basis and not give it a second thought. You may shoulder the weight of the world in ways that no one gets to see. This is the human experience. It's difficult on so many levels and every person sees it in a different way. It is your right as well as your responsibility to care for yourself ...the same way you would care for another person and then some. I believe that the better care we take with ourselves, the better we will be for those around us and those that need us.
Until this year, I rarely, if ever, took time to just get away and rest my mind. I wasn't about concerning myself with seeing new places. I was about working, being mom, cooking, keeping a clean house, running running running every which way. Sure, I was chasing my dreams as a fitness instructor, trying to build my client base. Sure, I was fulfilling my greatest wish, becoming a mom. Sure, I was trying to reach goals that I placed a high value on. I didn't like asking for help. It took what seems like an eternity to realize that when a good friend or a family member offers a helping hand, it's okay to take it. In fact, if you refuse all the time, it's kind of rude! Once I made peace with that, I was well on my way to understanding how important and valuable a little "me time" could be.
This weekend consisted of some fantastic "me time" with a close friend. As two single women, obviously we are not with bottomless pockets so we could definitely agree on taking the most economical approach to our girls' weekend as possible. We kicked things off with a visit to Ricketts Glenn State Park in Benton, PA. I'd never been here in all my years in Pennsylvania! Wow, have I been missing out! What an amazing place! The adventure began with a slow start as we had to wait out a pretty fierce rainstorm before we could take to the woods, but once we set out, the weather was cooperative and even ended up with sunshine.
I had no idea what awaited us in that woods! Step after step, rock after rock, climb after climb produced a waterfall scene more beautiful that the last! Trails were well groomed and easy to follow. We had choices at certain times whether we wanted a more difficult hike or an easier walk. (I tend to opt for difficult, but by the end of this trek we were ready for easy undoubtedly.) What's great about this place is there is a nice big map as you set out on your way so you can form an idea of where you will go and what you will see. I took a picture of it that came in handy as we were making our way back. Also handy, my Samsung Galaxy's S Health app which mapped our quest and gave us the important details we wanted to know, like how many miles we traveled in how much time and an estimate of calories burned....7 miles and about 700 calories in an afternoon!! Sweet!
When is the last time you took a day or two and ran away with yourself, your spouse or a good friend? I'm betting most people reading this are thinking back to senior week in high school, or maybe spring break in college? But, maybe some of you have been lucky and dare I say, smart, to grab a mini vacay at any chance and if that's the case, I salute you!
I'm an avid Pinterest browser. I'm admittedly addicted to pinning quotes, things I find well said, things I find to be inspiring, things I find to drive home a point or resonate with a truth I have come to know. I remember pinning a quote once, "Stop the glorification of busy." and I thought to myself, "Yes. Do." Because I have been guilty of filling my life up with busy-ness. I have been known to have trouble with the word "no". I've wanted to be pleasing and give whatever I could to those I care about. The trouble was that eventually, I didn't enjoy giving as much. I felt drained. That didn't change the fact that I wasn't good at "no", so what did I do to rectify that situation? I filled my own life up with so many things that I literally had no choice but to say no to things at times. Not necessarily an effective means of finding balance. I think many of us find ourselves in that same position, not sure how to give happily and balance our own needs in the midst of this being busy thing.
Thinking of our own needs is selfish. Wanting to escape our regular life seems irresponsible in the midst of all of our obligations. Taking time out from what stresses us out makes us feel guilty, especially if we know that those around us who also have stress and hardships in their lives may not be able to escape them at this moment. It's hard to resolve to take care of yourself for a minute first, before everything else. Can I ask you something, though? If you don't, who will?
It's not very likely that someone is going to come up and tell you, "Hey, it's your turn. Go take your break from everyday life and I'll see you on the flip side." It doesn't work that way. Under most normal circumstances, someone is not going to make arrangements for your time away, lining up substitution for your role in everyday life to care for your responsibilities and priorities....i.e. your job, your pets, your kids, your schoolwork and so on. It's likely that you do quite a bit in your everyday life without even giving it much thought. No one is going to say you have "x" amount of time and money to get away and refresh your perspective. Okay, maybe once in a blue moon you have this kind of surprise thrown your way and God bless the person in your life who can make that happen because that must mean they really care about your well being and have a sense of how important it is to find a resting place in what can often be chaos.
Know this: YOU are so important. Without even realizing it, you may very well be the world to someone. You may affect many lives on a regular basis and not give it a second thought. You may shoulder the weight of the world in ways that no one gets to see. This is the human experience. It's difficult on so many levels and every person sees it in a different way. It is your right as well as your responsibility to care for yourself ...the same way you would care for another person and then some. I believe that the better care we take with ourselves, the better we will be for those around us and those that need us.
Until this year, I rarely, if ever, took time to just get away and rest my mind. I wasn't about concerning myself with seeing new places. I was about working, being mom, cooking, keeping a clean house, running running running every which way. Sure, I was chasing my dreams as a fitness instructor, trying to build my client base. Sure, I was fulfilling my greatest wish, becoming a mom. Sure, I was trying to reach goals that I placed a high value on. I didn't like asking for help. It took what seems like an eternity to realize that when a good friend or a family member offers a helping hand, it's okay to take it. In fact, if you refuse all the time, it's kind of rude! Once I made peace with that, I was well on my way to understanding how important and valuable a little "me time" could be.
This weekend consisted of some fantastic "me time" with a close friend. As two single women, obviously we are not with bottomless pockets so we could definitely agree on taking the most economical approach to our girls' weekend as possible. We kicked things off with a visit to Ricketts Glenn State Park in Benton, PA. I'd never been here in all my years in Pennsylvania! Wow, have I been missing out! What an amazing place! The adventure began with a slow start as we had to wait out a pretty fierce rainstorm before we could take to the woods, but once we set out, the weather was cooperative and even ended up with sunshine.
I had no idea what awaited us in that woods! Step after step, rock after rock, climb after climb produced a waterfall scene more beautiful that the last! Trails were well groomed and easy to follow. We had choices at certain times whether we wanted a more difficult hike or an easier walk. (I tend to opt for difficult, but by the end of this trek we were ready for easy undoubtedly.) What's great about this place is there is a nice big map as you set out on your way so you can form an idea of where you will go and what you will see. I took a picture of it that came in handy as we were making our way back. Also handy, my Samsung Galaxy's S Health app which mapped our quest and gave us the important details we wanted to know, like how many miles we traveled in how much time and an estimate of calories burned....7 miles and about 700 calories in an afternoon!! Sweet!
We stayed at a hotel about 6 miles from the action, (not a great hotel, but we will leave out that negativity) parking was relatively easy to navigate near the beach so it proved to be no problem. For our first day, we opted to check out our surroundings and take in the pool at the hotel, later, venturing out to see what the night life was like. Neither of us are gamblers, so we took to sight seeing along the boardwalk and checking out some of the casinos and clubs like the Trump Taj Mahal and Quarters at Tropicana. There is definitely a lot to see and I now know of additional places we would love to visit someday when we make the trip again.
Our Sunday was exactly that, filled with sun! We wandered the beach and boardwalk logging about 5 miles on the pedometer and getting a little more sun than we had bargained for! Oops! Note to self: apply sunscreen!!!!
My day began with a bit of yoga practice in the hotel room, which had me feeling inspired and in the mood for more on the beach in the sunshine, with the ocean at arm's reach. It's pretty great when you can take your workout anywhere...I decided I didn't really care who was looking or what they thought and opted to practice a few poses for fun that I'm working hard to master! Don't laugh too hard, I'm relatively new to this yoga thing!!!
It was a weekend of relaxation (hiking and walking until we are sore is totally relaxing!) The sights and sounds of new places filling the spaces in our heads where our daily grinds usually reside. Spending some time in good company, thinking or trying not to, talking about everything and nothing, sharing silence or silliness is all a part of refreshing the soul. I will continue to make "me" a priority and enjoy those quiet moments where it's about nothing more than what I want to be doing whenever I get that chance. I will encourage my children to be able to do this as they grow into adults and are finding their way. I will tell them how important it is to take care of themselves....and as you read this, know that I am telling you that very same thing.
Peace and love from my "me time" to yours... go take your break.