Getting Out Into Nature

One of my goals for 2012 is to get out into nature. I used to spend an inordinate amount of time outside. Most of my pre-graduate school jobs involved being outside.  And because I live where the weather is generally great year round, I spent my free time at the beach, swimming in the ocean, hiking, biking, etc. Once I started working in an office and became a mom, the amount of time I spend in the great outdoors has dwindled significantly,  which I've decided has had a negative impact on my overall health and happiness.  I'm much happier when I experience the natural world around me.

So to rectify this situation I decided that I need to schedule time each week to be in nature (and my garden doesn't count).  In February, I put on running shoes for the first time in THREE YEARS and went for a trail run.  To be honest, this wasn't entirely my idea.  My outdoor activity of choice typically has nothing to do with running.   I don't really enjoy running and I'm REALLY slow. Like your-grandma-could-beat-me slow and always-dead-last slow.  No joke.  But my little sister who is an ultra-marathon runner (I still wonder if we're actually related) decided that her bachelorette party would be based around a trail race.  Being the Matron-of-Honor I felt obligated to participate in the run. So off I went running into the woods on my first run in three years with the hope that my body has some muscle memory and that maybe this would be a good way to start working on this goal I'd set for myself. Amazingly enough I actually enjoyed the run. Maybe because I did more hiking than running and no doubt largely due to the breathtakingly gorgeous trail.  So this trail hiking/running thing has stuck. I'm not always excited about getting up at 8am on Saturday morning to run/hike, but I thank myself every week.

Also, I've also found that I'm not the only person who thinks that being in nature brings healing and happiness.  Since I created this goal for myself, I continue to come across books and articles discussing the subject.  One author recommended by my son's preschool teacher is Richard Louv.  I'm looking forward to reading a number of his books.

I've found this whole goal a fun adventure in many different ways and I'm loving where it's taking me.
Any goals that you are working on that have lead you on a fun adventure?

Descheduling & Making Time for Spontaneity

Beautiful view of the Pacific Ocean

Is it just me or does our caffeine addicted (I recently gave up caffeine), iPhone loving, over-scheduled, multi-tasking world seem to be moving a bit too fast at times? Not that each of those things don't have their place and time.  But sometimes I think that our collective need to for constant information, constant motion, and constant noise is just a distraction from our real life.  I have to constantly remind myself to stop multi-tasking, to focus, to be present in the moment, and to enjoy each moment fully.  One of the ways I try to accomplish this is by descheduling or as I like to call it 'making time for spontaneity'.

The biggest hurdle I had to overcome in descheduling was my own guilt over being a working mom.  It actually wasn't that big of a hurdle once I identified the problem.  I used to feel a bit guilty that I'm not home between 8 am and 5 pm on weekdays to play with my son and do all the fun mommy & me activities that it seems all other kids/moms get to do.  My way of compensating for this used to be cramming a bunch of activities into our weekends.  However, no one in our family enjoyed spending our weekends jumping from one activity to the next.  It just made us feel more tired and less relaxed.  We get a lot more out of just hanging out at home as a family, doing stuff around the house, working in the garden, playing in our sandbox, going on walks, riding bikes around town, playing at the park, going on treasure hunting adventures to the beach, and spending time with friends and family.  So we scaled our activities back.  I implemented a one structured kid activity per weekend rule (right now it's swimming).  Also we try to have one unscheduled day during the weekend dedicated to relaxation, fun, and of course a few chores here and there.  These always tend to be the most enjoyable and stress-free days of the weekend.

Are the ways that you deschedule or make time for spontaneity? I'd love to hear about them.