Summer Pause

Even in the summer we still keep working for kids and families. However, we also try to take care or ourselves as well. In our latest July News we talk about everything going on at Underdue Social Services right now. You can see that work for children and families never stops. But in this post we also wanted to talk about the importance of pausing and taking care of yourself.

Summer is a time for play in our culture. That doesn’t mean the whole summer, obviously, but we have a slightly different attitude toward taking a breath during the summer. This is our vacation time, time when kids are out of school, and imagining sunshine and sand makes our minds wander. We think that’s a good thing.

It’s also true that money is tight right now. None of us can afford to be extravagant in our summer planning. Taking care of yourself doesn’t have to involve a lot of money. A good friend made me define the word vacation before I took my last one. The point she was trying to make is that a vacation isn’t when you take your smart phone, computer and spend large blocks of time working on things long distance. A vacation is when you stop and take a breath. Here are some ideas on how to stop and take a breath in your life.

Read things you don’t normally read

If you are someone who reads nonfiction books all the time, read some fiction. If you only read novels, read a biography. Get your brain taking in different information so that you are forced to think about something on an entirely different level.

Watch thing you don’t normally watch

All of us probably watch some TV. We won’t do a survey on how much here. Just think about watching a program that is totally different from anything else you have ever watched. I promise it will get your mind moving in another direction. Only watch old movies? Watch PBS. Only watch reality TV shows? Watch the food channel. I think you get the idea.

Just sit

The most critical think involved in taking a break is letting your mind be blank. I know that sounds pretty radical. However, you can’t let new things into your mind if it is already full. Before you can truly let go and relax you have to empty your mind. Yoga and various forms of relaxation talk about this all the time. But if you don’t want to be quite that radical, just go somewhere and sit quietly. Don’t take your phone or your book or your computer or your newspaper (what, something in print?). Just sit. It will be hard at first and you will fidget. Some of you won’t succeed in doing it long enough. But if you can hang in there, eventually you will realize that your mind is beginning to wander. And if you stop to notice where it went and what you were thinking about, you will earn a great deal about yourself and what you might like to explore in your life.

So – it’s time for the Summer Pause. Take advantage and enjoy it.