tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15322620.post1280914814473388492..comments2024-01-11T18:39:50.665+00:00Comments on Painting With Shadows: A Place Between Frenzy and DistractionKim Ayreshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02656677501116622953noreply@blogger.comBlogger9125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15322620.post-40707531435233491722017-06-09T18:03:11.812+01:002017-06-09T18:03:11.812+01:00Hope - When I first became self employed, I set up...Hope - When I first became self employed, I set up an office in a business centre an a different town a few miles away. It was a half-hour bus ride. A year later I got a car and it was a 5 minute drive. I noticed that I spent at least an hour longer at work and didn't have the down time on the way back. That bus ride acted as a buffer between the office and home. Without it, I arrived home still in work mode. <br />These days my "office" is in my home, so I don't really escape it at all.Kim Ayreshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02656677501116622953noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15322620.post-66230831830938034892017-06-07T22:12:12.317+01:002017-06-07T22:12:12.317+01:00Oddly enough, my daily commute helps.
Sure, it&...Oddly enough, my daily commute helps. <br /><br />Sure, it's less than 25 minutes one way but more than half of it is on country roads, so there's less traffic and more nature/wildlife. It's like a cocoon of quiet...or if I choose, it's a song from my youth where I sing at the top of my lungs like no one can hear. (Can't have maurcheen cringing across the pond). While I know I can't control the world (or the lousy drivers I encounter closer to work)it's a space where I choose whether to be quiet, listen to a book or just...be. If that makes any sense.<br /><br />You see, as a girl person we're wired to feel guilty if we're not productive/helpful/kind 24/7. So for a hour a day, I leave guilt outside, on the hood (bonnet) of the car and let it slide away. :)hopehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03306622656461205674noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15322620.post-67693331322380502772017-06-07T20:47:18.600+01:002017-06-07T20:47:18.600+01:00V - Running is not something I do, but I guess Tai...V - Running is not something I do, but I guess Tai Chi and playing music are areas where I'm immersed in the activity rather than my mind racing on all the things I feel I ought to be doing. Unfortunately, the other half of The Cracked Man is up in the Outer Hebrides for the summer, so I'm really missing the weekly get together for the music. Kim Ayreshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02656677501116622953noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15322620.post-37504296010531817952017-06-06T11:29:00.296+01:002017-06-06T11:29:00.296+01:00That all sounds a little familiar.....
I don'...That all sounds a little familiar.....<br /><br />I don't watch the adverts in TV programmes, but use the 3 minute slots to do dishes/clean the bath/take the dog for a pee. I don't watch the BBC or films because sitting still for that long seems too big an ask (and my house stays in some kind of order).<br /><br />I run to switch brain off/clear my head....but my body is absolutely switched on<br /><br />The only thing that for me feels like total relaxation/recuperation is playing the fiddle. It quiets my otherwise busy mind enough by demanding my concentration on a single thing. My meditation I guess. <br /><br />Running, yoga, playing music: All ask that I focus enough but distract me from the other demands of reality whilst doing me some good, I guess.<br /><br />What are those things for you? They must exist and you are certainly not alone.Vhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01785781682613066190noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15322620.post-74255089190811409202017-06-05T12:29:04.352+01:002017-06-05T12:29:04.352+01:00Maurcheen - Like you I dream of having a place tha...Maurcheen - Like you I dream of having a place that overlooks the sea, with easy access to a long beach to walk along. I think the blog post was more about the need to find the right headspace rather than a particular place. I seem to flip between the two states of mind - doing, or distracting - but neither is actually about replenishing or healing. But of course the right physical place can really help with the headspace :)<br /><br />Savannah - at least I'm not alone then :) Of course the problem is when the pile of paperwork is finished, there is ALWAYS something to replace it - which means the problem is I'm not finding/allowing/creating the space in which to recuperate :)<br /><br />John - Oh, I hear you! I did mention guilt, by the way - see the 2nd to last paragraph - but yes, it's a major part of it. And yet I remember reading the author Alan Bennett once talking about the fact if he wasn't actually hitting the keys on his typewriter, he felt like a fraud calling himself a writer. But he came to realise that the staring out the window and going for long walks was just as much a vital part of the process. IN fact without these activities the writing would never happen. The writing was not the start of the novel, but much closer to its conclusion :)Kim Ayreshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02656677501116622953noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15322620.post-19422906443770459652017-06-05T01:08:15.652+01:002017-06-05T01:08:15.652+01:00You left out an aspect of frenzied life which prev...You left out an aspect of frenzied life which prevents relaxation and recuperation--guilt! I'm overcome with guilt if I'm not working at my business or working around the house even though I know the feeling is nonsense. I keep telling myself that someday I'll make time to photograph a series, or ride my motorcycle across country, or even just write a poem or song. But, someday never comes. Balance? Ha! I haven't had a proper vacation of any length in... I'm not sure, five years? Longer? Yet, I can't forgive myself if I'm not producing, producing, producing. I need a good club on the head, I guess. John Painternoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15322620.post-82227845893547824192017-06-05T00:48:05.579+01:002017-06-05T00:48:05.579+01:00Rogan! Damn spellchecker! Rogan! Damn spellchecker! maurcheenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03215471605629080153noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15322620.post-53624081433550328282017-06-04T19:42:36.524+01:002017-06-04T19:42:36.524+01:00If anyone finds that place, please share! :) Righ...If anyone finds that place, please share! :) Right now, I'm in that state called "I know I'm procrastinating and it's making me crazy because I know I'm avoiding what I need to do" and it is far from relaxing. So, all this to say, "me, too"! (I just looked at the pile of paperwork I need to attack and realized that IF I finish what I started, I <i>might</i> be on the road...) xoxosavannahhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04310843901371718758noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15322620.post-8820854654640577172017-06-04T19:39:49.407+01:002017-06-04T19:39:49.407+01:00Hi Kim, I'm probably not reading into this as ...Hi Kim, I'm probably not reading into this as deeply as I should, or maybe I'm taking it for the simple question I see in front of me. I find my space near water, and preferably in water. If it's not possible to be actually in the ocean then if I can be a on a beach, Cliff, boat, then I am relaxing/relaxed. A river or lake will also do. I can walk for ever beside water. <br />As someone who can have very low moods (as you know) I often just get into the car and drive to the coast, I can be at my favourite place in less than an hour. My dream is to move there when the last wean has finished college and found her own place. <br />Love to you, Maggie, Meg & Ronan.maurcheenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03215471605629080153noreply@blogger.com