The Fine Art of Relaxing

For some of us, relaxing is a guilt trip.  Motivated and compelled to work and be productive,m anything short of that feels wrong.

I am in the middle of a two week vacation in Arizona, watching my beloved San Francisco Giants in spring training and 80 degree weather.  This would seem like a perfect environment for relaxation.

And it is.  Except for my brain which remains in work mode.  I have to be intentional to and set boundaries for myself or I will be subconsciously swept into a labyrinth of work-related concerns.

Each morning to a relaxed time with my wife of visiting, doing our devotions together--we do this at home, but the pace here is much more subdued.  Each morning we take an hour hike--one morning we were out for two and a half hours climbing a mountain!--and this is a time for us to view the beauty of the desert, an acquired taste we have developed over the last 6-7 years,

I have my I-Phone with me at all times.  My world is carried on this small magical portable computer.  Sadly, I am a creature of habit and I find myself reaching for it throughout the day to catch up on news, contacts, sports scores, work-related concerns (my staff at home work to shield me from these), and family updates.  With eleven grandchildren, there is always something new to know about their personal worlds.

In the evenings my mind defaults to work mode, and so I have to "busy" myself with games, conversations (we are traveling with some very close friends), and an occasional television show like American idol (I know...it's crazy!)

We will be home in a week and the temptation is to begin to transition already into work mode, i.e. What do I have waiting for me?  What work projects need to be tackled?

Et cetera

But I am relaxing.  And loving it.

It is a fine art I want to learn to incorporate into my regular life.

I am open to advice on how to do that more effectively as the allure of semi-retirement awaits me!