Planning for Play

Planning for Play

Most of my readers are busy and productive people and given that the Christmas season is at hand, many are on tight deadlines, in pressured situations, persevering until they can take the foot off the pedal for a well-deserved rest. One of the issues that confront the busy person when they eventually do stop for an extended break is that often, they hit the metaphorical wall. Going from a 100 m p/h to a dead stop can create all manner of personal havoc, affecting us physically, emotionally and mentally; along with relational impacts on those we are close to. If you are verging on, or wholly in manic mode, given that we have a couple of weeks left till Christmas, I would suggest taking the foot off the pedal slightly; do what you have to do but do it walking a touch slower, both in mind and body. It doesn't mean we do less, we just shift our mindset to doing it a little easier. The other thing that can be useful at this time of year is planning for play while you are away—from the office. Often we arrive at our holiday destination leaving the days to their random spontaneity. While this can be a form of its own curative therapy, inserting some meaningful activities into the time— events that we know breath life into us—can change a break from merely physical rest for our bodies to regenerative refreshment for our minds and souls.