The last few weeks have been hectic - preparing for exams, attending practicals classes, writing/editing the last few chapters of a new book, K traveling, and D falling sick in the same week, preparing and delivering a session on packaged and traditional foods, along with the regular household responsibilities.
I usually sit on the sofa, stretch my legs, and watch a movie whenever I want to relax, typically in the evenings. Our kitty W loves to cuddle on my lap while I watch TV. It is our usual bonding routine!
She noticed I had not been watching TV in the past few weeks. She was getting restless one evening and started shouting so much. I gave her food, milk, and water. But she didn't touch any of it. The meows persisted, even louder and more demanding. I sat on the sofa and she immediately jumped on me. I then realized that her meows were an order meant for me to sit down. She happily cleaned herself for some time, followed by purring, and cuddling, and slept like a log for the next hour.
Sometimes, we get so entrenched in all our tasks and projects that we don't feel the need to take a break.
When we enjoy what we do, we don't feel the need to relax in front of the television.
When we loathe what we do, we resort to hours and hours of binge-watching TV to distract our minds from the stress and emotions of mundane work, dealing with egoistic, self-centered people who are part of the workplace.
Consciously making the time to relax is very much essential, irrespective of whether we enjoy our work or not.
Please note, that "work" in this context implies everything we do in our daily routine. It is NOT limited to what we do at a workplace, for an employer earning a salary in exchange for our skills contribution. Whenever someone differentiates between working moms and stay-at-home moms, I find it a ridiculous comparison, as all moms are working - be it at home or in an external office premise. This topic needs a separate post and I shall pen it down later.
We choose to relax in our preferred ways. What I find relaxing may not be relaxing for another. For eg, my daughter loves to sing and she ends up singing for close to an hour. When we both play Antakshari, I feel exhausted after 20-25 minutes. I love to be engrossed in a non-fiction book for a couple of hours, but someone else might find it more tedious than relaxing.
As with everything else, it is up to us to figure out our preferred ways to relax and not emulate what works for someone else.
Posts
