One of the best things I always get from going on a holiday is the experience of slowing down. Particularly, the opportunity to do absolutely nothing for long periods of time.
But the mind can quickly jump into the conclusion that going on a holiday and doing nothing equals to being relaxed, while coming back to work and doing a lot is taxing.
I didn’t really like that. This way of thinking makes me want to escape work or responsibilities and look for short term pleasures or distractions to finally have nothing to do again.
That’s the same way of thinking that tell us to look forward to the weekend, because “Mondays are the worst part of the week”
That’s a prison. I really value freedom and I have a strong stance that I don’t have to sacrifice my joy with anything I do. Life is too short.
So for the last 2 years I’ve been exploring this feeling of ‘relaxed’ I was looking for. Does it appear only when doing certain things like going to the cinema or petting a dog? And what goes on in my mind when I am relaxed?
What I discovered is that there is no activity that is intrinsically relaxing. ‘Relaxed’ is a quiet state of mind where most thoughts don’t seem so important to entertain.
I have found myself holding on to insecure thoughts about my body when receiving a “relaxing” massage and I also have found myself at ease when people got frustrated about something I did.
If you notice, you’ll also find this to be true in your own life.
So here’s when I wondered, what if I could have a similar experience of being on a holiday (relaxed) whilst at work?
And I got to tell you, it’s a wonderful exploration. Because I started to play with “can I be relaxed doing this? What about with this? What about now?”
I found that there’s nothing I do at work that I can’t do relaxed. At any time I can notice my state of mind and, as best as I can, let go of the thinking that is taking me away from joy.
The result is that work loses that emotional charge of something taxing to do and becomes just another activity I can bring joy into
Oh, and please don’t believe in me. Play with this exploration and let me know what you find.
Love,
Felipe