Summer Beats Exhaustion of Any Kind – with God

It is totally oxymoronic to be exhausted, in a negative way, during summer. This is the time for relaxation, even if it’s a staycation and not a luxurious travel adventure. Can’t afford a trip to a National Park? Pitch a tent in your yard, even if it’s just for you. Can’t hike the Appalachian Trail? Try walking in your nearest park and take plenty of reading and water and a sketchbook. (I also carry my fold up chair.) Not near the ocean or a beach? Get to the nearest lake, river or creek for an afternoon. Say yes when a friend invites you to their backyard pool. Scrap the fear of how you look in a bathing suit; we all carry unwelcome cellulite. Play, really play with your dog in the yard.    

Attend free concerts usually given in your local city square and sing along to the tunes you loved in your youth. When the polkas start-and you can move-grab a nearby partner and swing away. Who cares if you’re out of step; you’re in line with the gusto of life! Pack a lunch and head to the countryside where you can sit under a tree and soak in the lazy beauty of summer. Go browsing in rural craft stores where you will be delighted to see items that your grandmother or grandfather once made; top the day off with a visit to the ice cream vendor or small-town café.

In short, simply treat yourself to a day or an afternoon out of your usual context. Psychologists tell us that these simple activities will stimulate more endorphins in the brain, and you will feel better and even think more clearly. If you can’t take off work, do this on a Saturday or Sunday after you’ve scrapped the obligatory home improvement work or grocery shopping.

Author Dan Buettner has studied ‘blue zones’ for many years; these are the areas of the world where people tend to live longer than Americans. Buettner discovered that such people, “live longer, healthier lives in which the things needed as human beings are prioritized…We have not built a human-needs first society; we have built a business-first society, and it is beginning to show.” One of the human needs crying for our attention is the need to reduce exhaustion and elevate relaxation and personal growth. Writing for Time magazine, Emily Ballesteros says that “…47 million Americans voluntarily resigned from their jobs (in the past year), feeling a strain on more than just their work calendars; they are feeling it in their spirits.”

This is quite sobering: our spirits are in trouble when we are exhausted. 

Ballesteros suggests we consider what makes us feel energized and then consider what makes us feel weary. Then we need to do something about this by minimizing what stresses us. She says that simple things to do are within our reach and can make us feel more relaxed and less exhausted. On her suggested list is examining the amount of sleep we get, taking a morning walk, consuming media thoughtfully, refusing to discuss work off the clock. Of course, diet and the occasional ‘free time adventure’ I mentioned above are all helpful. It seems Ballesteros advocates for simple solutions to alleviate exhaustion and I’m all in for it. If you think you need more money to relax, you will never relax!! This all appears to be part of an adjustment of one’s mindset. Find out what helps you to relax and carve the time out for it. Just do it!

Feeling exhausted sets you up for more trouble in your spirit as Ballestero points out. To help with that, I suggest you include some attention to the soul in your relaxing time. 

Reflection

You might consider including some meditation time during the moments you carve out for relaxation. Every neuroscientist I have recently read strongly urges readers and patients to include meditation daily. Somehow or other get at least a few minutes in each day, perhaps with your prayer regimen or an activity. You might find it helpful to reflect on the Book of Psalms by taking just one to reflect on. Or you can simply pray the rosary as you watch the trees send gleeful music over head. Perhaps you and a friend could tell stories while enjoying a cold lemonade on the deck or patio. 

The point is you need to relax! You owe it to more than family and friends; you owe it to your soul as Ballesteros says. Ask God to be with you as you settle into the relaxation mode. Ask for the healing of the soul. Try not to think of work, or noise, or people who stress you. Get your proper amount of sleep, keep to your diet, do your exercise and praise God that you can do all this. Offer it all as prayer.

I have found an old book which explains the Psalms and offers lovely, brief meditations for the reader. The book is written by a French scholar, Fr. Gaston Brillet, who chose certain Psalms and placed them in categories for prayer and reflection. Under the theme of A Picture of Happiness, Brillet offers Psalm 128 pointing out that it is a prayer of praise and a wish and a blessing. It is a brief psalm centering on the happiness one enjoys in the home and in life if one “fears the Lord and walks in his ways…” A lovely piece demonstrating how one will reap joy and blessings if one acknowledges God in one’s life. Why not read this brief psalm and resolve to make your life a picture of happiness for yourself and others. “Fear of the Lord” simply means following the direction of God in all of life’s choices. For many of us, Fear of the Lord might mean taking care of our stressed and burdened souls to let the light in. To shine once again.

Quotes for this article are taken from Time, March 11, 2024, p. 14.