Go on, put your feet up

Look around us and you will see that just about everybody is overwhelmed with work, phone calls, media messages, junk mail, terrorist threats, computers, news updates, politics, war, images, noise, traffic, pollution, our minds and thought process are being bombarded with information and I believe we have reached overload, we can not take any more. Family problems, financial problems and much, much more are gradually making us ill, so I invite you to take the antidote. I invite you to take the day off. Take a day off, re-claim your “day of rest”, the day that was once present in our culture, but has now become swallowed up by our 24/7, must have it now life style. I believe that people badly need a day of rest to balance the stress of our fast-paced, stress producing lives. Every day we hurry to get so many things done, to meet urgent short-term demands. We complain about not having enough time to relax or to do the things we know are important to our well being.

All I am suggesting is to try taking one day of rest on a regular basis, one day each week, even one day each month, whatever seems doable on a regular basis and it must be on a regular basis. On this rest day, forget work, civic duties and world affairs; focus on your private life. The activities you choose to do on your day of rest depends on you the individual, but might include playing with family, visiting friends, taking a walk in the park, taking time out to appreciate the beauty of the countryside. If one is physically exhausted, take a nap, read a book, focus on having a day of rest and rejuvenate your body and mind.

After you try a couple rest days, ask yourself how it feels. Were you glad you did it? Do you feel better, more relaxed or further ‘behind' or did you find that it was OK to put off the things you would have done for a day? Was it worth it? Then ask your self “when did I last do that” or it might be “I’ll have to do that again. Then maybe you will find time to take the day off again, just for your self, to relax and unwind and put your feet up