A quite remarkable friend of mine ((For many reasons, not least also being post-transplant and chasing her dreams – with tremendous success so far.)), photographer and filmmaker Holly Cocker, tweeted today that she hasn’t had a proper day off in over 3 months and another friend said he’d not had more than a few days off at a time all year.
Holly also mentioned her admiration that I take time out fairly frequently, which I decided to take as a compliment in the way it was intended, rather than a suggestion that I’m actually quite lazy.
It got me thinking, though: we all need to strike the right balance in life. There’s work, there’s play – for a lucky few of us there’s work that feels like play – and then there’s all the other things that happen in life.
I mentioned yesterday getting caught up in Twitter/Facebook streams and losing hours of your day. In the same way, it’s far too easy to get swept up in what you’re doing and losing sight of the fun times and the opportunities to just kick back, even if it’s just for a day here and there.
Striking the balance between driving yourself forward and keeping yourself happy and relaxed in life is always a tough thing to do, but it’s also one of the most important. In the lead up to Christmas, we’re all focused on taking some time out for ourselves and for our family, but we need to make a conscious effort to continue that focus into the New Year and beyond.
Remember: relaxation isn’t just for Christmas, it’s for life. In more ways than one.
