mind your mind

I try and treat my brain to as much rest and recuperation as i possibly can. I have a stressful job as a carer and worries about family. When i am at home distractions usually involve loud music and focus on something, i even managed to finish a high level work qualification as i found it easy and a good way to forget everything else.

Luckily i have just had a holiday where i got out in the fresh air for some extra escaping the world. My flat only has 3 windows so to see much of the world i need to to physically go out. So for my fiancé and i to stay in a caravan with windows and doors was wonderful. As it was my dads caravan and i had used it for nearly 20 years all was very reassuring and familiar.

It was at the top of a hill on to a long, stony beach. If the tide was out you could walk miles in either direction on sand, if it was further in you needed the coast path plus some climbing over rocks. This helps as whichever route you choose you need to concentrate on what your doing and where you walk.

It could mean wet feet through to a nasty fall so i always keep my eyes peeled. This is more important as i get older and I'm not as flexible as i used to be. I cant climb or negotiate rocks like i used to so have to plan the route and look where the next step is going to fall.

Also next to me at all times is one of my favourite sounds, waves washing on the beach. A few days back i spent easily an hour staring out to sea while thinking about pretty much nothing. My life is full of problems and this year has been very hard but this cleared it all away for a short while.

I went from worrying about going back to work and wearing a mask all day to looking for which pebble my partner would want for one of her pictures. I found myself watching other people more, the kids and the dogs. Wondering what their stories were or just looking at them enjoying themselves. I had many years ago taken my own kids to that beach and it brought back great memories as others played in the same places.

For the walks i did last week I spent time focussing on which pictures I could take and how to stay upright, that was pretty much it. We agree when driving on holiday that work doesn't exist after we change through the first county and it stays that way till we return. She doesn't enjoy he walks if involve to many hills but she joined me when we went to another beach with a flatter approach. She walked much further then usual as she was just as focussed as me on the best angles for a picture and the stones she wanted.

We both became distracted by being somewhere different and having a new focus. We weren't going to the shops or to work, we were breathing in fresh air and had left our worries behind .In fact she was happy all week but the day after our return she broke down and cried over her worries about the corona virus, we had come back to reality.

Many years ago i lived at the base of a mountain, i used to climb it on days off and survey the world from the top. In fact if anyone watches Dr who it was used in the first scene of the series with Jodie Whittaker. Again it needed concentration and planning, needed to know safe routes and where to go next. The focus wiped everything out for a few hours, something better to think on.

I always prefer to walk if i can, even if shops or run a short errand. Nearly always i can focus on the walk and nothing much else. Even going to the shops involves watching out for traffic. Any distraction is good and obviously a decent walk helps your health too. Walk to the gym, walk to the shops and once in a while walk on a beach.

Turn your brain off once in a while or give it something else to process, it helps.