It’s important to take a break from staring at a screen all day – but everyone knows that. It’s also easy to forget just how important it is until you actually do it.
Yesterday a friend and I visited Doi Inthanon national park here in Thailand. We drove up through the mountains..
Saw some waterfalls…
Visited a temple and its gardens..
And walked through this forest – actually the highest peak in Thailand and the beginning of the Himalayan mountain range.
There was a small shrine in there
We saw another waterfall..
and meditated in this little hut.
The trip was my friend’s idea and at first I was hesitant to go. Would it be worth spending the whole day on? It was a two hour drive each way.. that’s a lot of time, I thought. What if it rained? (It did.) Shouldn’t I be working or something instead?
These are common thoughts for me and I find it’s often hard to tear yourself away from trying to be productive or doing “what you’re supposed to be doing” all the time. It’s hard even to just get out of the constant stream of stimulus we get from technology.
But doing something like this on your day off:
- Gets you in touch with nature
- Reminds you that you are part of something bigger than yourself
- Gives your mind a break, relaxing and calming it
- Makes you fresh to come back to work
I would invite you – at least a couple times a month – to go for a walk in the forest, go to the beach, or hike in the mountains. If there’s no nature nearby then just go to the park and feel the grass on your feet. It does a lot for your mental health and peace of mind, and there’s really no substitute.