When you feel on edge, set an intention to recharge with an off day, reevaluate what matters, and reset your routine to reflect what’s important.
Back at the beginning of February, I wrote about the lunar new year and the different traditions associated with coming out of the long winter. The start of August in the Southern half of the world marks a similar reset from the dark. It also signals the waning days of summer here in the North. These are supposed to be the days where we take time off to recharge before the drudgery of indoor life takes over in September.
There have been a lot of personal bothers over the past few months. They have taken my focus away from where my priorities lie.
We’ve all been there. Suddenly, you realize weeks or months have passed, and you’ve allowed yourself to sink under piles of irrelevant hang-ups that gathered while you weren’t paying attention.
Recharge
Recharge: energize, bring back to life, invigorate
Plug something in to renew its energy level. Bring back to life something which has lost its power. To stop using for a while.
If my phone or laptop signals low batteries, I stop what I’m doing, plug them in and wait for the meter to tell me all is good. My mind and body don’t have meters, nor do I respect the signals they give me. Not until I’m smacked in the face with a metaphorical blank screen. And even then, chug a 5-hour energy shot in a tankard of coffee, and move on.
It may seem like after the past year and a half of lockdowns, we’ve left a lot of ourselves unused. There are new challenges and new worries. Along with the day-to-day issues I’ve dealt with, there are problems that I didn’t consider before. I let things pile up.
From our first job, Americans are conditioned to be “good” employees, we must only take off once a year, and summer is that time. Most employers reluctantly give their workers a week off, sometimes two. I don’t think it’s a stretch to say the average American can’t afford to take a whole lot of time off.
We run our batteries down into the red. A day or two here and there is sometimes all we can get to charge the batteries. Maybe just a drive to the beach, a walk in the park, or a day with Netflix. Sometimes you might just need two cups of Damn fine coffee.
Reevaluate
Reevaluate; when you break down the word, we’re reassigning a value to the things we do in life, i.e., our priorities. We take another look, consider again, amend. Turning off the thing that drains us. When you view life from a different lens, things tend to come more into focus.
So, you did it! You finally took that day off! It’s a great feeling like you cut school for the day. You’re Ferris Bueller, but you might actually get paid (and hopefully didn’t destroy your car)! Did you go to the beach, hike in the woods, or lounge by the pool? Did you sit on your deck and watch the neighbor kid mow their lawn?
You settle in, adult beverage in hand, to appreciate the sunset, and you ask yourself, why can’t it always be like this?
Realistically, you’re not going to quit your job; you aren’t going to sell everything, buy an RV and move to Dirtlick, Montana. Maybe you can look at what you did today and incorporate some of that into everyday life. Are there things that you can cut out of your schedule that would make life a little simpler?
One tiny step at a time still moves you forward.
Reset
Reset: set again, differently; to shift or altar. This is the tough one, the one that calls for action.
You’re lounging on the marina roof deck mentally appraising the boats as if you could afford them. Leisurely sipping a mojito as the sun dips below the horizon, you make the decision to spend every weekend fishing. This is the life; this is where you feel at home. Then reality comes calling. Your Uncle Donnie’s 75th birthday party is next week, then your partner’s work-roomie’s wedding, then, your cousin needs help moving…well now, it’s winter!
I’ve lost count of how many times I hit the reset button. As a kid, I remember adults lecturing about how in life, there’s no reset button; you can’t just earn an extra life. Oh, I beg to differ. Who said one can’t start again?
With each reset, some little life lesson remains. These lessons eventually have to build onto one another until I gradually achieve a place where I’m happy.
the take home
I wrote this the night before I set out to go kayaking. We bought kayaks intending to use them often throughout the summer. The last time these boats saw water was the 16 of May!
Our plan for the day was to reset with a day on the water, reevaluate how we are living our lives, reset one or two of the small things, and try to live a more satisfying life.
Do we roll that way, though? Heck no!! We knocked out 4 ½ hours cranking arms on the Patuxent River like marathon runners in a zone.
Real-world problems can’t always be solved by reading blog posts on the internet, but sometimes they can bring inspiration. Hell, we can’t even follow our own guidance! Do your best to find your own happiness.
