Simply Logged Out

Enjoying oat meal and coffee for breakfast on a skiing trip

The phone rings, I am trying to reply to one of todays x number of emails, and simultaneously finish the quarterly accounting for my company. Print outs fight for space on the table, together with coffee cups, folders, invoices and receipts. My headspace tries to accommodate it all together with planning dinner, picking up the kids at the day care center and all other tasks related to running a family. After dinner there is more work waiting. Some days I feel like my head is spinning. There is too much noise, and it is difficult to shut it down.

Mindfulness?

I suppose some of this noise is self-inflicted. Maybe I am overambitious? But when opportunities are there, I take them. It is easy to add on things in life. In the end it is I who suffer. Too much in my head, trying to do manage everything at the same time. It does not work. Som days I want to through my Iphone at the wall, and go back to an analogue disconnected life. No Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, email, or people who think something awful has happened to you just because you didn’t call them back at once. Do we have to be available all the time? Do we have to check our email or Facebook account every five minutes? Off course not. In our society there is just too much. Too much information. Too many possibilities, and too many things we try to live up too. Being perfect. Like a picture in a glossy magazine. Our bodies and minds are not designed for this constant feed of information, constant stress, constant need to perform our best. Where is the room for a time out? What happened to the afternoon snooze our parents were so good at? Burning out and meeting the wall is just one of the results. No wonder people sign up for courses in mindfulness by the thousands and trends like Simple living is hotter than ever. But why not start before it is too late? Why not be proactive instead of reactive?

Nature, that good feeling and a coffee break.

Being in a constant fight or flight state is obviously not the way to success. At least not in the long term. Logging out of society with it’s many demands is important. People can do this in many ways. For me, my daily yoga practice goes a long way into helping me. For an 1,5 hours I can log out from all the stress. But some days it isn’t enough. When everybody just seems to want a piece of me, and my head feels like it wants to explode. I have one sanctuary though, where I always find the way back to myself. Where I can breathe. Where I can be me without all that outside stress; nature. Going out into the forest, to the sea or the mountain is my way finding relief. And I do not have to go on an expedition to a far away place. A Sunday walk along the beach, or on the hill can be just as rewarding. You can still find that good feeling. Sometimes just a coffee break out in fresh air will do. But, if I include camping in my outdoor experience I can really manage to land where I want. What simpler way of living is there than the life where you only worry about the basics? Staying warm, eating food, sleeping etc? The good feeling of logging out and getting away doesn’t have to be hard to achieve. The import part is to log out. Turn off your phone. No emails or Facebook. Just be outside.

Being a mom and having a business of my own doesn’t always allow for much time to get out and do things for myself. But with some creativity it is possible to have great trips in your local outdoor areas. This spring for instance, I did an overnight skiing trip just north of Oslo with a friend(see the pictures) and it was just as enjoyable as the trip I did in Bhutan last year. So it is not about how much money and prestige you put into it, it is simply about getting out and getting in touch with yourself.