A life full of joy doesn’t just happen to you nor can it be forced. It is a habit or a practice. It’s more like a living thing that has to be fed or nourished than a passive experience or a neurochemical anomaly. One of the things that nourishes joy is having adequate rest. I don’t know about you, but it’s hard for me to slow down and let the muscles–or the brain–relax and recover!
Because I’m someone who enjoys hard work (and, let’s be honest, I rather enjoy overdoing it 🤦♀️ ), it is important for me to have a list of things I can come back to and enjoy when I’ve made myself really tired and I just need to take a break without ACCOMPLISHING yet another goal. A podcast I enjoy called Happier, by Gretchen Rubin and her sister, Elizabeth Craft, uses the term “Low-Power Mode” to talk about taking vacations without unplugging entirely. Here, I’m thinking of Low-Power Mode as that thing you do when you are looking to recharge your batteries, and you need a creative boost or inspiration, but don’t have a ton of energy to draw from yourself. Here’s a few of my go-to’s.
YouTube Stars: The Film Theorists/The Game Theorists
I used to think YouTube was a big ole’ waste of time … until being burned out and therefore bored one summer opened my eyes to just how creative some of these multi-million subscriber channels. I got hooked by watching altogether too much Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild content. But I’m glad I did. What really inspires me about the success of these youtubers is the entrepreneurship. These folks took something they loved, ran with it, and eventually, after a crap-ton of work, they basically get to be self-employed to be the nerdiest nerd on the dance floor. That’s my cup of tea. I watch these guys (and other folks like Peter Hollens and Lindsey Stirling) to remind myself that you really can do whatever you want…if you are willing to put the work into it.
Gamezzz: The Legend of Zelda, Dragon Age, Civilization
Despite what it may look like, I’m not a huge gamer. (Case in point, I am still playing Dragon Age:Origins, even though it came out a decade ago.) What I do though, is revel in the few games that I really enjoy. I don’t love every Zelda title that has come out in the last few years, but Breath of the Wild is an awesome new world to explore when I’ve run low on my own creative juices. I love story-based game mechanics, and Zelda is a great game series if you are personally obsessed with exploration. It was a huge step for me to get back into playing games and embracing something that I love that is not “productive”. Zelda especially has always been something that has prodded my imagination back into dreaming about endless possibilities.
Podcasts: Wait, Wait, Don’t Tell Me, Happier, Radio Lab
Sometimes you need a smart person to make you laugh about the state of the world, and that’s why having the NPR One app with Wait, Wait, Don’t Tell Me is a must-have for me. It is a nerd-humor paradise. (In the last twelve months, they’ve had at least three Trek actors on alone: William Shatner, LeVar Burton, and Kate Mulgrew…yay!) I listen to Happier by Gretchen Rubin partly for comfort, and for encouragement, as well as for a little refresher course on the “tactics” of happiness. Radio Lab is a continual wonder of scientific curiosities, amazing story-telling, and finding a fresh way of looking at things by examining the unknown or unexpected.
Longwood Gardens
Creativity and ingenuity are must-haves for me to feel refreshed (as represented above). However, I also tend to need the refreshment of spirit that only tremendous beauty can bring. For that, since I live outside of Philadelphia, Longwood Gardens is the place to go. Each season of the year is a new wonder to explore and enjoy at Longwood. Vivaldi, Hamilton, or Handel’s Messiah also do wonders: art that is intellectually stimulating often helps me the most!
What refreshes you when you need a break? I find I need to be intentional to pursue the rest I need and be decisive about which things I find restful and which I do not! It can be an act of courage or hope to pick up something restful to do (or not do) rather than anxiously checking yet another thing off the to-do list. Ask yourself the question, “What do I do when I’m tired?” If the answer isn’t, “I rest when I need to,” and you aren’t in a crisis situation, then I invite you to reflect on why that might be the case. Exploring my answer to that question opened a lot of doors for me in the pursuit of sanity.