With the publication of The Business of Being: Soul Purpose In and Out of the Workplace just two weeks away, I’ve used the month of June to enjoy a much slower version of life before I hit the ground running:
July 11, San Diego, The Book Catapult
July 27, Boise, Rediscovered Books
Aug 12, Crystal Lake, IL, Veteran Acres Park
When I was in Joshua Tree, CA I saw this “hammock roundup” that five people can enjoy simultaneously.
On Eleuthera Island, the neighbors across the way enjoy a solo version of quietude.
And while we don’t have a hammock where we live, there’s a multitude of gentle choices. My three favorites are reading (dive headfirst into a book and don’t surface for a good, long while), restorative yoga, and walking the Boise River Greenbelt. We’re also just a stone’s throw from an arboretum, nature center, and park.
What do you do to recharge your personal battery?
Tuesdays with Laurie 
I love the hammock roundup, Laurie – how inviting and I can just imagine the chorus of laughter as people try to get in and out of them! 😀 I’m with you on reading and walking – then gardening or pilates as a third option!
Annika — You’re absolutely right. Once a person is actually IN a hammock, all is well. But it’s hysterical to watch people getting in and back out of them again.
Love the hammock roundup as well. I’ve just moved back to Barcelona so I’m trying to find new places, but books, walks, and meditation always help. Good luck with the book, Laurie.
Olga — I bet you’re going to discover lots of lovely, new-to-you places in Barcelona.
You have a busy time ahead and I wish you all the best! Taking my dog for a walk relaxes me as does reading on my terrace, on the beach or in the pool. (anywhere actually but some paces are just more relaxing)
Darlene — I definitely resonate with taking your dog for a walk; it’s the best!
I love to bake. After a hectic work week and Saturday fun, I love to back bread or cookies or muffins on Sunday. Very therapeutic for me.
LoisaJay — To my way of thinking there’s nothing on this planet that smells better than fresh baked bread.
I hope all goes well with your busy schedule in July, Laurie. I don’t do yoga, but I read an awful lot and can’t go to sleep at night unless I read for a while, sometimes over an hour. I do crochet and take long walks too with or without Beano. All the best. 👍❤
Fatima — I’ve been enjoying the photos on Twitter of your crochet projects. Fantastic!
Thank you, Laurie. Just having a bit of fun inspired by amazing Gypsy Nativity set we saw at Stes-Maries-de-la-Mer, Provence, in January. ❤
Congratulation on your new baby-book coming out! What do I do to recharge? Sit down, look around, don’t attend to thoughts or objects exclusively, see the truth of our essential nature. Then the hammock of life which includes everything gently rocks… 🙂
Kathy — Gently rocks… Yes, indeed.
Read, write, garden, walk, cook, and go just BE, somewhere close to the water’s edge. I just read an article about the Boise River Greenbelt; lucky you, to have that great space so close to home!
Cindy — I agree with your sentiment: “…somewhere close to the water’s edge.” There’s somethething therapeutic aboutbeing near a body of water.
We do have a hammock in the garden Laurie, but I prefer to leave that to the grandchildren and my husband – the shade of a tree with a good book to read, suits me best. Lovely photographs by the way! Thank you for spending time on my blog 🙂
Deborah — “The shade of a tree with a good book to read” sounds like the perfect prescription!
I also love to get lost in a good book when I need a break….or binge on a few episodes of a good comedy, musical, or mystery. Those are the things that take us away from our real world and let us relax.
Patricia — I agree. A bit of escapism is a great way to recharge our personal battery.
A hammock roundup, what a fun idea. Best wishes for your Business of Being book tour! I’m starting a new “aging backwards” stretching exercise practice. It’s waking up muscles which need a re-charge. Meditation and tonglen are vital to recharging my mind and spirit. Reading always!
Audrey — I love the sound of your “aging backwards” stretching practice. How cool is that?!
Road trips actually recharge me because they take me away from the daily grind/routine. Getting up to Lake Superior and sitting on the shore somewhere is always good. Wilderness canoe trips do the job as well, although a little more work is required to get there. But the recharge lasts for months, rather than days or weeks.
Chris — Happy 40th wedding anniversary! I bet those wilderness canoe trips help to fuel your writing, too.
Reading, walking, and Pilates rock my hammock too. (I like Audrey’s idea of “aging backwards!”) When my manuscript is in the hands of another reader, I use the time to catch up socially: lunch with friends, a morning with daughter.
Marian — Great examples. I especially like how you use your time when your manuscript is in the hands of a beta reader.
You are going to have an amazing book tour Laurie. I can just feel it in my bones! To answer your question is easy… My personal battery is recharged when I sit with sea or walk along trails by its shore. It doesn’t even really matter the weather even. I just put on my shoes and jacket if needed and go. Sometimes I take my camera or my easel and paints and sometimes I just take me because that is enough and all I need.
Terrill — I’ve been fortunate to see some of the resulting photographs and artwork from those times you spend by the sea or on trails. Clearly it’s not only therapeutic, but inspirational as well.
‘Hammock round up’…a perfect way to relax, dream and laugh with friends! Thanks for sharing Laurie. I am glad such a place exists.
Balroop — I’m glad those kinds of places exist, too.
I want to be here now. I am here. Thanks for sharing and wishing you a lovely week, Laurie.
MG — yes, YES, YES indeed 🙂
To recharge my batteries I schedule in a pajama day, stay cozy in bed, read a good historical novel and pretend I’m in another time and place.
Jill — Brilliant. Simply brilliant!
Just went camping in the National Forest. It was incredible as a recharge.
Craig — Ohhhhhh, how FUN!
Key to recharging for me are long walks with my dog, enjoying music with my husband and reading a good book. Wishing you much success with your new book, Laurie.
Leanne — Dogs, music, and reading. It doesn’t get much better than that!
Always books…and meditation too. I love to go to the ocean and just watch the waves. My partner wants to walk and walk and walk the beaches, since sand makes my feet angry we always seem to get frustrated with each other when we drive to the ocean. Frustration with my partner is not recharging or relaxing.
Your book tour is going to be grand, I can just feel it. I am amazed at how much work authors have to do to sell their own work. It seems to be nearly constant until one can get a good group of followers who will word of mouth the whole process. The book market just seems overwhelming these days. Actually, most jobs these days need an attached ad campaign and a support team. I don’t know how the beginners get started. The couple next door ( with 2 teens) truly work 4 jobs plus try to invent gadgets and jewelry to sell on the Internet. They are working so hard – so hard
You book is great….let’s sell it everywhere!
Patricia — I like the beach too, sitting or walking, no matter how you slice it. We have a sound machine that plays ocean waves in the distant background at night; it’s extremely soothing.
Thank you for the well wishes for the book tour and ongoing sales. I’m fortunate in that I enjoy the promotion that goes along with it. I know many authors who don’t care for that aspect of it.
McCall, ID tends to re-charge me. The woods, the mountains, the water. Weekends (or sometimes longer) packed with hiking, biking, x-country skiing, paddling, balanced with a few indulgences (the Sushi Bar is a favorite of ours). 🙂
Tim — Ohhhh, the Sushi Bar. Yes! And the Pancake House. Yes! You can’t go wrong in McCall.
What a delight those hammocks are 😊 . Walking early on a summer morning ( here in the uk at moment it’s light at four-ish so it’s brill ) reading and writing are my favourite ways .
Oodles of luck with your book . Can’t wait to read it .
Cherryx
Cherry — Reading. Writing. You simply can’t go wrong 🙂
My magical hot bubble bath has long been my Mecca for rejuvenating, though since returning from the Peace Corps in 2006, newly aware of the worldwide water crisis looming, I don’t take them as often. I just apppreciate each one more.
Janet — I haven’t had a bubble bath in a month of Sundays. This wonderful reminder had me add it to my “immediate future” list. Thank you 🙂
Looking forward to recharging batteries soon at Ocean City, Maryland. Seaside, I always think of Anne Morrow Lindbergh’s memorable lines in Gift From the Sea. So looking forward to the beach, although with little grandsons ages 4.5, 2.5 along (and one little soon to arrive), we’ll have to balance relief for those pregnant parents and our own recharging!
Melodie — Ohhhhhh, what you’ve described sounds like heaven. Pure Heaven!
If I have a long time available, I go to inland Brazil, state of Goiás. A unique natural source, with waterfalls, stunningly healthy and good food and lighthearted people. And spirituality.
If I cannot go there, I just visit green places in my hometown, where I know a few people go. It’s not the same, but it works.
Alessandro — Waterfalls. Good food. Lighthearted people. Spirituality. It doesn’t get much better than that! 🙂
My perfect Lazy Day is hard to find here in the High Desert as it involves significant amounts of cold rain to be justifiable. Wake up in the morning and draw back the drapes to see gray skies pouring like they’ll never stop…perfect! A really good book, a toasty, grilled cheese sandwich, a mug of hot tomato soup and a cozy throw for your knees. Hunker down and surrender to the circumstances — it’s going to be a Wonderful Day!
Sandi — Okay, now I’m hungry for one of my favorite meals: a grilled cheese sandwich to dunk into tomato soup! And of course pouring gray skies make for a perfect day of writing.
In no particular order …
Cooking – either an old favourite (comfort food) or something completely new, depending on my mood … or doing something craft-y, working with my hands.
Reading – from go to whoa – even if it takes me the whole day.
Watching nature move – a waterfall, wind in trees, rain, etc – so long as I have no time limit.
Widdershins — I love your “from go to whoa” 🙂
We are heading to the cottage for the weekend. Full recharge, with lots of books to read, by the lake.
Arlene — It sounds FANTASTIC!
Our day trips (sometimes weekend) are always always invigorating in in a number of ways. We treked down to Asbury Park this past weekend for the beach, the boardwalk and some indoor pinball at the Silverball Museum (the latter to escape the 95 degree heat!), and a few weeks back made our annual Gettsburg pilgrimage!
Sam — It sounds idyllic! 🙂