It's 8:47am.
You're closing in on the start of your day and feel like you already need a break.
Conversations out loud with small people buzzing at your feet.
Conversations in your head with big people who are most certainly wrong.
You've sorted them all out. You don't feel any better for it.
Where did all the energy go?
I remember as a small child first coming across the word "bored".
"No Time to be Bored", screamed the cover of a children's activities book. As a small child, I could not wrap my head around the concept.
I spent almost all my time outside of my head, running in expectation to the the swing at the end of our backyard, playing in the sandpit, walking to the milk bar down the street to buy a Big Toff ice-cream.
I barely existed in my thoughts. Boredom made no sense. Energy was boundless.
I believe as adults, our energy starts to dissipate as we transfer our interaction with the physical, sensory world around us and become confined to the space in our own minds.
We are tired, and assume the answer is to sit down and do nothing, but as soon as we do, our minds kick into action.
The tiredness grows as our mind grows weary and a vicious cycle of exhaustion begins.
We are gloriously, intentionally created as physical, emotional, spiritual, intellectual human beings.
I believe that engaging in the physical world, igniting your senses, is so important to restoring your energy. When you do this, your brain rests.
Psychologists talk about engaging the five senses to tap out of the "flight-or-fight" response, where your sympathetic nervous system goes into overdrive, which can cause feelings of energy, anxiety, stress, or excitement.
Focusing on each of the five senses - what you see, touch, hear, smell, or taste, can take you out of the confines of your mind and allow your mind to rest.
For me, there are two ways I engage my senses and rest my brain.
The first is when I sit on our back deck, listen to music and drink tea. I become aware of the breeze as it touches my skin. I hear the music and it soothes my spirit. The sensation and taste of beautiful organic tea on my palate is pleasurable.
The second is when I go for a walk along the beach. I see the beauty of nature, the palm trees by the way, I feel the sand under my feet and smell the salt water from the immense ocean that stretches to the horizon.
My mind becomes quiet, I find rest. I am energised.
You may experience rest from your mind in different ways. You are thinking about it now, ideas are coming.
Whatever it is, give life to your own unique way of engaging your senses and resting your mind.
Indulge in life.
Originally published 23/11/2021, 11:19 am AEST.