Finding my happy place

This week I took off for the wilderness. Actually it was a very nice little house my friend lent me so I could enjoy a summer escape.

While it had all the amenities that matter — hot water, fans, ice — it didn’t have wifi (hence the reference to wilderness). 

I didn’t mind. My goal was to unplug, read, write, walk and sew. 

For the most part I got what I wanted. I read four books, I finished cutting out a quilt, and I started sewing blocks (66 of 90 completed — yay me). I wrote an article, made several lists, and planned out my fall. I fit in a couple of beautiful walks and I also kept moving by sewing, cutting and ironing in different parts of the room. 

I was surprised by how much I got done. Not checking email, Twitter or Facebook saved me a large chunk of time. Not being on the phone or taking part in any zoom calls also put a nice deposit in the me time bank account. 

My trainer is very fond of telling me how important rest is for fitness. Most of the time I focus on maintaining good sleep habits. This brief escape though showed me I also needed to rest my mind and also learn what if feels like when I set the agenda completely. 

I already share out tasks in daily living. Meal planning each week to manage has also saved me time. I never realized though how much time I spend managing stuff. 

It was a useful lesson to kick off adopting a new habit — meditation. I’m learning how to filter out the chaff and focus on the stuff that matters. I’ve not actively meditated before so I’m open to seeing how it may calm the jumble in my head. 

One of my favourite things to do is watch the waves roll in. I took the picture above to remind me of the sense of calm the ocean brings to me.

What are your favourite ways to turn off the demands in your life? Feel free to share in the comments.