Learning to Exhale

Relax and let your mind roll on
Over all your problems
Relax and let your mind roll on
Over all your problems...
~ The Who

It's not as easy as you'd think. This relaxation thing. Letting go and exhaling without inhaling any angst. Breathing out with content.

Tried it over this past weekend. Succeeded moderately. Albeit temporarily.

Kinda groovy. Being relaxed.

Not turning on the telly (save for a middle-of-the-night awake moment in which I watched "Meet the Paynes" on TBS -- I was hoping to catch Madea, as it was a Tyler Perry weekend, but no such luck) helped. As did not having internet access. Amazing how things in my mental area started to unwind without any of my usual addictive stimuli.

There's an art to relaxing properly. Not sure if I've mastered it. Rumor has it that turning one's mind off, so to speak, is an important component. I swear I was born both talking and thinking and haven't stopped since -- so the concept of turning the mind off is not only foreign to me, but nearly impossible. But I tried. No mooning or fretting or stewing about anything. And it worked for a little while. As did some serious time swaying in a hammock. That will totally cure what ails you.

Not sure I'm going to be able to accomplish this relaxation thing now that I'm back in the swing of everyday stress and responsibilities. But the perspective gained and the residue remaining will hopefully serve as gateways to a calmer, less frantic me.

At least for the rest of the week.

Maybe.