Not, "Do you have the day off" or "Are you scheduled to work?"
But, if you do have the day off, do you find it difficult to relax? I do.
When I asked a friend how he spent last weekend he said, "I did nothing. Just sat around."
I envy him. "Can you just relax a moment, Chip" (my nickname) dad used to say. My teachers said the same all the way through high school.
It is not good to be in continual motion. Yet, it seems faintly immoral to me for healthy people to "do nothing."
Around 1975 I found a solution: Transcendental Meditation. Whenever I practice TM (20 minutes twice a day) it is 100% effective. It calms, clears thinking, improves my mood...The benefits are extensive.
TM has a drawback. It is too easy! There are techniques that improve the experience. But the basics are simple: Close your eyes, Sit still for 20 minutes, repeat a so called nonsense sound to yourself. The universal one is "Oooommm." The point of that sound is crucial. It helps replace agitating thoughts.
Repeating the sound for 20 straight minutes is not required. Let you mind wander. If an agitation arises, let the mantra replace it. Outside sounds? Let them go. Wondering if the time is up? Quietly open your eyes, check watch, close eyes.
Simple. The question is not, "Does it work? But, will you take the time?
Let "Labor" Day, be ""Relax Day. Go briefly to someplace you won't be bothered. Use an excuse if you must.
Allow your eyes too close. Enlist "any" mantra.
You may discover yourself relaxing for the first time in weeks. Don't wanna do it? Then lean back & stare at the clouds.
Happy Relax Day!
-Erie Chapman
"Cloud Lovers" Erie Chapman 2022
