Slowing down & enjoying your own company

So it is Sunday and I have found myself with a day off after a 6 day work week. Excellent, time to do all those things that I have been meaning to do all week but haven’t had the time to do.  As I sit alone in my flat I think about what needs to be done. I look over to the overflowing dirty clothes basket, filled with the last 2 weeks of washing. Ugh, it looks like such an effort, maybe I can put it off. I walk into the kitchen, make some breakfast and settle down in front of the TV. I turn it on and a message comes up across the screen. ‘No Signal’ – Great. I look out the window and it appears to be a nice day. I know, I will finish my breakfast, have a shower and go for a walk, maybe do some shopping. As I turn off the shower, I continue to hear the sound of water running, I look out the window and it is now pouring with rain! Bugger!! There goes my walk!

Now what?!

Standing in my flat, in complete silence, I look over to my phone.  I wonder what some friends are up to?! I message a few people, eagerly awaiting their replies. One by one the messages slowly roll in, ‘Sorry, can’t today’ ‘I can’t be bothered, the weather is awful!’ & ‘I’ve already got plans, raincheck?!’

It is slowly dawning on me, that these things are all a sign to just stay in by myself and relax, but why is this so hard?! I have spent the whole week running around extremely busy, just craving a moment to myself and when it happens?! I get restless and search for something to do. It is at this point I have reached over to my laptop and found myself here, talking to you.

Now I am someone that has definitely learnt over the years to enjoy my own company. I often like to challenge myself and put myself in social situations others may find awkward, like going out to dinner alone. One of my favourite activities is going to the movies by myself. Something I was once terrified of doing, has now turned into a regular and enjoyable experience that I look forward to when I get the chance. So why is it on this day, I am finding it so hard?! One conclusion I can come to is I have been so busy, that I am afraid if I stop and relax, I will fall down in an exhausted heap.

We all seem to be rushing through life at a million miles an hour, filling it up with things to do. We get stressed so easily and too quickly forget to slow down and ‘smell the roses.’

So on this day, I am now determined to just relax and enjoy my day off.

It is perfectly okay to stay in my trackies all day and read a book on the couch, everything else can wait. Who knows?! If the weather improves, maybe I will be able to go for my walk and instead of rushing around at my normal city pace; I might just stroll along and occasionally stop to smell those roses.