There have been a lot of articles lately about how people have adjusted their life priorities as a result of the pandemic—slowing down, going deeper into various pursuits, asking themselves what they really value in the face of life’s brevity. Many have faced terrible losses. Many others have made big changes.
photo by Meagan/via Flickr
The many faces of relaxation.
Now as summer really starts to get underway after this long and very hard year, it might be a good idea to give a little thought to how much we value relaxation. This means many different things to different nurses, as we learned back in 2010 when we asked followers on Twitter how they relaxed.
You can see some of the answers here; they included jogging and other exercise, spending time with family, taking hot baths, dancing, having a glass of wine, running a side business, making art, and spending time outside. In at least one case someone responded that relaxation was impossible because she was a nurse manager.
Those who engage in mindfulness practices may offer a somewhat different perspective, describing simple activities like cooking, walking, sitting still, gardening, even daily nursing tasks and interactions, as opportunities to practice a kind of inner relaxation, a letting go of mental noise and physical tensions.
Others may find jumping out of airplanes relaxing, at least in the aftermath.
And if the author of this post is really honest, some of us may be still working at figuring out how to relax and what this really means. What works for you, and has this changed in any way since the pandemic began back in early 2020?