Peace and Quiet

There are a few activities that really relax me, and they have one thing in common. They are activities that are carried out quietly but which require me to think about what I am doing. Let’s start with reading. Nothing takes me away from daily life like a good book. If I enjoy a book I can read for anything from 20 minutes as a kind of mind cleanser to hours on end. When I was commuting to London I never noticed the journey go past until I got to Rochester and sometimes not even then if the book was good enough. Jigsaws are another engrossing activity that will often take an entire afternoon out of a weekend and sometimes two. You are constantly concentrating but unlike concentrating on work it is utterly relaxing. That being said, I always loved marking essays for the same reason. Yes, I was one of those weird teachers who felt that marking was a very pleasurable part of the job. I can occasionally lose myself in a film or TV show but I am trying to find non screen activity where possible and I am definitely doing well with that. Obviously, if I am writing a full length blog post it can use up two hours very easily, but that is productive activity so I can use it to relax and feel like I am doing something worthwhile.

I mentioned in a previous post that I am not very good at making myself do something that I see as self indulgent, but I am getting better. As long as I can see an end product or I feel like I am learning something I am happy to sit down and let the world drift away.