DOES EVERYONE HAVE THE RIGHT TO RELAX?

[raymond5737]

We live in a world of rules and regulations; Shoulds, Have-tos, Must dos, Cant dos, Say this, don’t say that, do this… don’t do that. It gets to the point that you can’t relax or just won’t relax or maybe you feel like you don’t deserve to relax…ever. IMO, everyone needs to have a place and a time every day in their lives to relax, feel comfortable, be themselves, be goofy, talk about anything and everything, love each other, cuddle, kiss and hug and most important… to laugh and feel free, regardless of our age, weight, what we have or don’t have, and especially regardless of our financial situation.

Without that permission to let ourselves reset; the meaning of Family, Relationship, Marriage, Trust, Safety, Support and UNCONDITIONAL LOVE goes out the window. Without these important and constant TRUTHS and PERMISSIONS in our everyday lives, Life has no meaning.

For so many reasons and for such a long time, many of us  have denied ourselves these simple rights and freedoms I don’t even remember when things changed. I used to say that I never had to drink to relax and have fun. Unfortunately, with the rush of a crazy world our priorities have changed and we were never smart enough or astute enough or had the perspective enough to realize what was really important but missing in our lives.

Is it possible to try to get what I believe has been missing back into so many of our lives before it is too late? It is a simple acknowledgement and a simple permission to relax at the end of the day and not take life so seriously. We need to give each other space without fear or scorn or reprisal to be ourselves and to love each other especially without judgement. Yes, everyone has the right to relax and reset and to give meaning to what we hold dear.

[HarveyBoulevard]

I like to relax.  I am a professional relaxer.  I work hard...and relax hard.  I am trying to teach my 3 year old the fine line between lazy and relaxed.  Wish me luck.

[Cep]

The world has become a horrible place to live..

 

[scap99]

Man, y'all need to relax.

 

Just kidding.

 

 

I'm in the same boat.  My most relaxing time is alone on the porch with a cigar.  Not talking, not thinking, not doing.  Just relaxing.

 

 

[El Presidente]

You reap what you sow. 

It is very easy to get caught up in the 24 hr world. You are always "on" if you permit yourself to be. Like any habit, it can be a slippery slope of checking e-mails on the phone at 2am when you reach for a sip of water. 

You just have to ensure you are not always on. Relaxation is an essential part of health. You apportion time to it as you would to work/family/exercise/faith etal. 

You can get it back. Start with a clean sheet of paper and map out the life you wish, put in place the key habits you wish to ceate to change your life, start with day one. 

It takes 60 days to create a habit. You will be there in a couple of months and you won't look back. 

[Miller1985]

I had the privilege of living in South Carolina for eleven years before I moved back to my native Northern Indiana. It's a different life, a different culture, there. If it can be done tomorrow, then why not let it? If it's the first day of hunting season, it's akin to a national holiday. If you meet someone you never have in the grocery store, you make it a point to get to know them. Friday's are made for clocking out at noon. And Saturdays aren't made for work. 

 

 Indiana is different, but I told my wife when we were in the process of moving back that I didn't plan on being "on" all the time. That was four years ago. To this day, I do what matters to me. I go to work at 4:15 and come home at 4:00 in the afternoon. I sit and discuss my day with my beautiful wife. We have dinner, then it's a cigar, and a book until 8:30 and it's bedtime. It's not what everyone likes, but I feel refreshed most mornings, and I can enjoy my life, for the most part. 

 

 We can, and will, find a way to do whatever it is that is a priority to us. 

[Jeremy Festa]

Yes

[Jeremy Festa]

But also no

[westg]

21 minutes ago, Jerocco said:

But also no

so you are saying  by  no means yes

[Colt45]

Sure, but we have to take it / make it - not seek permission or acceptance.

[Ethernut]

Relaaaaxed here.. About 8 months ago I stopped watching or reading the news all together. My stress levels have dropped to nearly nothing and only concerning things that deserve my focus and I can affect. I still get the news through people talking about current events but I don't feel "spun up" all the time..

[billh1]

All this talk about work and busy and not being able to relax is harshing my mellow...

[Miller1985]

7 minutes ago, Ethernut said:

Relaaaaxed here.. About 8 months ago I stopped watching or reading the news all together. My stress levels have dropped to nearly nothing and only concerning things that deserve my focus and I can effect. I still get the news through people talking about current events but I don't feel "spun up" all the time..

I like your style. 

[...]

Gave up watching tv 17 years ago, gave my tv away and never looked back. Was gifted a new tv a few years back, put it in a closet then found a way to regift it. Never looked back ?

[Ginseng]

Sometimes it gets to the point where making time to relax feels like a guilty pleasure. Which it should not be. It's taking good care of oneself. However did I get into this mindset?

Wilkey

[miurajus]

Thanks OP.  Balance.

[Habana Mike]

I believe everyone has the right to relax or not. It's up to them to exercise it.

Reminds me a bit of a conversation with a coworker many years ago, prior to being plugged in 24/7.

Back then we'd frequently go to the office on Saturdays to work as no internet connections back then. Sometimes the odd Sunday.

At one point I said stuff it, not wasting my down time at work and just made a point of not going in on the weekend. He asked me how I could just do that and I said "I just did"

Also gave up the regular 10-12 hour workdays for the most part.

Granted I'll still pull an all-nighter if truly necessary, but for the most part (and highly likely due to the wife finally telling me to) I turn off the electronics outside work hours and on vacations.

Nowadays I try to relax off an on even during the workday - wireless office on the deck helps with that!

[billh1]

Not only do you have the right to relax but GOD commands it

Human Race

Read: Mark 6:7–13, 30–32

[Jesus] said to them, “Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest.” Mark 6:31

We do not rest because our work is done; we rest because God commanded it and created us to have a need for it. Gordon MacDonald

[Ken Gargett]

4 minutes ago, billh1 said:

Not only do you have the right to relax but GOD commands it

Human Race

Read: Mark 6:7–13, 30–32

[Jesus] said to them, “Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest.” Mark 6:31

We do not rest because our work is done; we rest because God commanded it and created us to have a need for it. Gordon MacDonald

it might be the only thing religion has got right. 

[billh1]

GOD gave us "the word", man created religion...We should all be careful not to confuse the two.

Galatians 5:22-23

22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.

 

[Ken Gargett]

3 minutes ago, billh1 said:

GOD gave us "the word", man created religion...We should all be careful not to confuse the two.

Galatians 5:22-23

22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.

 

no disrespect but that is a bit of a semantical (if that is a word) cop-out. 

i'm all for the love, joy, peace et al but religion/belief in god/however you wish to describe it, has done for greater harm to this world over the last couple of thousand years than anything else. the good of which you speak, i believe, comes from the individual. if a system of belief helps an individual achieve that, well and good. but the sad fact is that the endless different systems have created hell for millions. 

if your individual beliefs assist you, terrific, but those beliefs are hardly universal. 

this world would be a far far better place i we had not invented them or a so-called divine being. 

that said, i have no issue at all in you expressing those beliefs, though we might be staying into dodgy territory or forum rules, but in that case, i certainly intend to express mine. 

[billh1]

No worries.  No disrespect taken and none intended.  

[scap99]

Love it.

 

Polar opposite views on the most heated topic ever created, and nobody is having a nuclear meltdown.

 

Bravo gents.

[Ken Gargett]

24 minutes ago, billh1 said:

No worries.  No disrespect taken and none intended.  

if you are ever in brizzy, please come to the balcony for a good cigar and a chat - bring rob for reinforcements!

[Ken Gargett]

and a good bourbon.