(Madisyn Taylor)
With so much to do all the time, it can be difficult to find time to simply breathe, think, and explore our inner landscapes. It is still possible, however, to feed your soul and to briefly separate yourself from life's frenetic pace by taking a snow day. Personal snow days are best taken when you feel like you are running on empty with no chance of respite in sight or when you begin to resent the life you once loved.
Your snow day can go a long way toward dispelling built up stress, provided you give yourself full permission to indulge in nurturing activities. It is not a day to worry about what you're missing or what is still lingering on your to-do list. Rather, it is a day to give yourself a break from your responsibilities so you can return to them when you are fully alert. Once you have scheduled your snow day, try to commit to ignoring your chores, not calling your place of work, and doing only the activities you enjoy. Relax, take a nap in the afternoon, play with children, meditate, work in your garden, or read a novel. Take a long walk in the fading afternoon sunshine and then cook a special dinner for yourself. Let your snow day be as languid and as lazy as you need it to be.
My Thoughts:
Even though I no longer really play in the rat-race of life, I still love ‘snow-days’.
Days that I take just for me, to laze about, snack when I feel like it instead of being good and watching my sugar intake, long hot showers, dossing about in my PJs and most of all reading.
I read every night before settling down to sleep, but I rarely give myself permission to get lost in a book during the day. So, slumming-it on the sofa, coffee and chocolates at hand and a good book has been my plan-of-action for today.
There is a more practical side though, as over the last couple of days I have been playing hard … drinking, socialising and more to the point dancing. I am very aware that if I do not give my back the chance to recover then it will shout very loudly with the muscles going into spasms and forcing me to stop all activities. Not that I really need much excuse to take some time-out … but it does make me feel better (psychologically) to be able to justify my inactivity.