Yesterday I shared 3 reasons to leave your book behind the next time you go to the beach. And by books, I’m including audio books and podcasts as well.
It’s a big leap to head to the beach without something to read or listen to.
You may be wondering,
What’s left to do instead?
Fear not, my friends. I’ve got seven things for you to do that don’t involve filling your brain with more information.
Although I typically don’t condone multitasking, some of these can even be done simultaneously.
Whether you pick just one or cycle through all seven, these activities will help you use your time at the beach to actually rest.
You’ll return to life feeling more fully recharged in body, mind, and spirit.
(1) Rest
Close your eyes. Take a nap. Or keep your eyes open and simply stare out at the horizon line. Allow your body and mind to come to complete stillness and rest. At the beginning, your thoughts may tempt you. Just like in meditation, allow them to come and go,
(2) Breathe Intentionally
Obviously you’re always breathing … unless you’re not (have you ever noticed that you sometimes hold your breath under stress?)
Let the ocean be a breathing cue for you as you attune your breath to the rhythm of the waves. Notice how this creates shifts in your nervous system, relaxing your entire body.
(3) Watch the Tide Change
Otis Redding was on to something when he described “sitting on the dock of the bay and watching the tide roll away.”
Earlier this year, I took an extended retreat in Santa Catalina, Panama, a small village on Panama’s pacific coast that is far from most civilization. It is a place without much to do.
It is also a place where the tides have a lot of variability, especially during the spring tides around the full moon.
I spent many days watching the tide roll in or away, noticing as it crept closer to or further from the shore line.
Fun fact: Did you know it takes six hours for the tide to change from low to high?
(4) People Watch
We live in a culture obsessed with reality television, yet somehow we forget that the best reality shows happen live, right in front of us, every day.
Instead of checking your phone for the latest gossip on the Kardashians or who got kicked out of the Big Brother house, watch the dramas that unfold right in front of you. Listen to the conversations around you.
Other than watching my own behavior and hearing my own thoughts, watching and listening to other people is the best way to learn about human behavior patterns.
If you’re tempted to judge what you observe,
consider this:
There are no coincidences in life. Everything is divinely orchestrated.
What this means is that you’re observing and hearing these things for a reason.
The conversations and interactions that play out in front of you are a reflection of patterns in your own life. Sometimes we need to see things in others before we can see them in ourselves.
So, when this happens, turn back to yourself with compassionate curiosity and investigate where these patterns are showing up in your life.
(5) Listen to Your Inner Wisdom
Without the books to distract you, you’ll find yourself battling racing thoughts. This is normal, and it will settle down if you give it time. Once you get beneath your racing thoughts, you’ll begin to hear the still, small voice of your inner wisdom.
When that voice starts to talk, listen.
(6) Play
Remember when you went to the beach as a child? If not, watch some kids and see what they do. Kids are onto something and we can learn a lot from how they operate in the world.
Here are some ideas:
- skip in the waves
- swim
- surf
- make sand castles
- hunt for shells
- bury yourself or someone else in the sand
- do a grounding ritual in the sand
- play a game of catch
- explore
- feel the sand with curiosity
(7) Relish Your Boredom
One of the most destructive fears we have in modern society is the fear of boredom.
That may sound extreme — who is really afraid of boredom? — until you notice how often we fill our time with things to do to avoid boredom.
The fear of boredom is what keeps us busy and what keeps our mind overactive.
Boredom is a gift for the creatively inclined. And “creatively inclined” includes you, even if you don’t think it does.
The seeds of creativity bloom in the fertile soil of boredom.
If you want to harness your creativity and productivity, learn to relish boredom.
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