“What time does Kung Fu Panda start?”
When it comes to making the most (or least?) of downtime, I’m a huge offender. I L.O.V.E. being lazy when I have time off. I find that, during most of my weekends, the most distance I will travel is merely the couple of feet that exist between my bedroom and my sofa. Like a cat, I’ve developed the ability to fall asleep in virtually any place that offers the slightest modicum of comfort, so you’ll usually find me curled up, purring away, in either place. This is convenient, because I can watch television and movies in either place. And, perhaps most importantly, I can fully relax in either of these places. And while no one will ever devalue the importance of relaxing and resting there ( least of all me, the art of relaxation’s most committed devotee), there does come a point when you start to think: “Enough is enough.”
Most of us who work, work hard. We have to if we want to make that butter for our increasingly-expensive bread (unless we’re lucky enough to have a cushy, high-paying job that demands next to nothing from us mentally. Dreams.) That goes without saying, so it’s not really a valid an excuse. I didn’t realize it, but there are people that exist out there who actually go out and do things as opposed to spending their precious, hard-earned free time sleeping or with technology. I’ve recently been on a few weekend getaways with friends to different places and because I was with them, I actually did things. I threw a Frisbee, I learned how to play croquet, we barbequed. And I loved every second of it. More importantly, I couldn’t believe how much I was able to do. When I stay at home I usually feel like time goes too quickly to get anything done. By the time I hit the gym and grab lunch and shower and get myself in a state that I can be seen in public without causing a mass blindness epidemic there’s really no point in trying to accomplish anything else. The day’s already done.
Well, it seems I was dead wrong. Every reason I ever gave for not making the most of my downtime, for just napping at home and tuning in to the nearest Friends marathon I could find, was only ever an excuse. And what’s worse, what I was doing wasn’t harmless; I was actively hurting myself with my inactivity. I was cheating myself out of new experiences and meeting new people and trying new things. I’m not a big believer in the cliché, “I’ll sleep when I’m dead,” because I for one cannot function when I have a sleep deficit, but I’m also not a big fan of missing out on the fun and excitement, which are basically the whole points of life (to an extent). Whenever your couch calls you- hit ignore! And while you’re at it, put all of your other technological temptations on pause too. If you try doing things and really hate them, Netflix will always be there for you when you’re done. I promise.
