And relax… If only it was that simple. Finish work, switch off, enjoy a restful evening / weekend / holiday. The reality often seems to be; as soon as we manage to quieten the noise from our surroundings we just become more aware of the racket within. And getting that to shut up…?
First a disclaimer: These are not words from an expert psychologist, pharmacist, physician, psychiatrist or podiatrist.
One of our favourite reasons for not investing in our recreation goes:
- ‘I can’t be bothered. I haven’t got the energy or the time.’
- ‘I’ve already got enough on as it is.’
- ‘I just want to sleep.’
- ‘There isn’t room in my mind for anything else. I just want to veg.’
- ‘I don’t want to have to think about anything else.’
So we try to take a day off, a day doing nothing, a good night’s sleep… but we can’t. We can’t because it’s all still with us. Our mind remains full of chatter: budgets, regrets, projections, criticisms, dilemmas, forthcoming commitments, knitting patterns…
The idea that the less we do the less we’ll think is flawed. Trying to relax and clear our mind doesn’t work. It’s like trying to sleep or trying to forget something. The harder we try the less successful we are. Sedative or depressive chemicals such as alcohol also seem to have little lasting benefit. What seems to work better is simplifying and exercising: Simplifying the focus of our mind and exercising our whole self.
One of the benefits of outdoor activities is their tendency to allow the recreation of our mental rest and peace.
Climbing has been compared to chess because of the way it so fully engages the mind in strategy, tactics and attitude against an opponent. Rock climbing is a challenge not just to ones mind but to ones body too. A good climber is totally focussed and integrated in a single mission. Sensory input comes from many sources and via diverse receptors: The eyes, tactile sensors, inner ears and proprioceptors all supply information. The central nervous system receives this and using reflexes, imagination and decision making, coordinates the whole person in progress up the rock / ice / lamp post.
Focussing our whole self (body, mind, soul, beard…) in a single challenge seems to result in clarity and rest for our mind and body. Integrating and focussing keeps us from continually revisiting the short circuits of unsolved conundra orbiting our minds. This in turn relieves the frustration and general emotional constipation that seems to build up as we invest large amounts of nervous energy getting nowhere. Not only this, it seems to release and employ mysterious powers within us that are far more resourceful when it comes to solving problems; with the result that often, at the end of a hard day’s activity, the solutions are available to us and our tensions are eased.
Here are some ideas to help you find a clearer, quieter mind; some challenges that have helped me and friends find mental recreation:
A good clarifier / quietener is:
- Different to your usual. I enjoy working with wood. There must be plenty of reasons for this but one of the main ones, I reckon, is because it’s so different to my usual industry.
- Challenging. I was at a UK sea cliff climbing venue recently. ‘Gogarth grip factor’ is well known amongst climbers. It’s the hard to analyse mental / emotional challenge of climbing there. Perhaps it’s the absence of ground beneath you, or the knowledge that an abseil retreat isn’t possible, or maybe it’s the seals grunting up at you or the isolation - I don’t know - but however much I expect it and prepare for it I always find myself unaccountably anxious as I begin to climb there. Perhaps because of this Gogarth seems to earn a special degree of focus from those tickling its lichen. And maybe that’s why it also seems to leave one with a special degree of distraction from ones usual head chatter. You’ll see climbers sat smiling at the top of the cliffs, deeply affected by their heroic endeavours. Some of my friends disagree with me – they account for Gogarth Grin Factor as a kind of derangement, an emotional scarring akin to PTSD. I still believe it’s the mental clarification that comes following a sustained period of whole person focus about a simple task.
- Energetic. The more energy we release (within ourselves as well as from ourselves) the more likely we are to finish up emotionally balanced. This isn’t just my theory. It’s backed up by the work of bioenergetics. Similarly, good clarifiers are…
- All-engaging. If it occupies your hands, feet, heart, lungs, imagination and courage all at once it’s probably a good activity. Computer games don’t and aren’t. This is why they tend to increase anger whereas genuinely violent activities such as rugby decrease it.
- Simple. I’m not sure how fish feel about fishing but I know a lot of fishermen who find the experience mentally refreshing. There aren’t many activities as simple; simple in terms of objective, and I reckon this might be why men find it so recreational. I once met a man whose hobby was catching (and then releasing) Alpine / Arctic Char – which only live in a few upland lakes in the British Isles. He spent whole days walking up to remote water bodies and hunting down these worthy adversaries. He reckoned that on average he caught one on one in every ten trips. He seemed very happy.
- Long enough. If we’ve had our mind working away at high speed on a solar system of things for several days or longer it won’t obediently settle down the moment we want it to. Some kind of mental momentum means that it may take several days of simple focus and revised expectations before anything like clarity and rest are ours.
- Often. The best and most thoroughly clarifying challenges might be days long. These, however, might only be possible a few times each year. You might be able to incorporate shorter yet still valuable aids to clarity much more frequently – try unicycling to the water cooler or stationery cupboard judo, for examples.
‘When you are pushing the limits of your endurance - it does concentrate your mind. All your life becomes so focussed. It does have the effect of calming that inner chatter.’
‘… Just got off safely, I just stayed in the tent and savoured the moment, feeling clear headed, feeling my strength come back, feeling so much at peace with myself I just don’t think there’s any feeling better than that. ‘
Doug Scott (mountaineer) reflecting on the paradox of recreation though all-absorbing challenge
The recreation of our mental rest and clarity is more effectively achieved through whole person exercise and exertion than through inactivity. Outdoor activities are unrivalled opportunities for this so get out there and enjoy yourself.
| |
Registered on the 