Loosening the brain vice.

I have always been the kind of person that just has to be going all the time (while still being just a little bit lazy...how does that work). Thinking ahead to what I have to get done, thinking of the most efficient way that I can get my tasks completed, thinking about what I can get accomplished now, so I don't have to worry about it when I'm swamped enough during the school year, etc., etc., etc....That's all part of being a Busy Bee, after all. But, my thoughts are always zipping around at the speed of light. Sometimes, I even have trouble trying to remember what I wanted to put on my list of things to remember! It can really be quite exhausting. The thoughts just race each other while spinning and fluttering around each other. They keep going and going and going until....

I'm all tuckered out!

Okay. I know I probably sound just a wee bit crazy. It's not like I have a problem focusing, 'cause I don't, unless I'm tired, but who doesn't have that problem? My brain just never really stops working, which I think is pretty apparent to those who know me. My thing is that pretty much everything is thought-provoking to me. From the things that people say and/or do, to things that the typical person wouldn't normally give any thought to in a day, and everything in between. I can honestly find the simplest things to be fascinating. Take for example, a rock. Yeah....a rock. I can pick up a rock and think of how amazing it would be if I were able to see what the rock has "seen". I think about how long the rock has been there, where it was before it ended up in my hands, and if it were at the bottom of the huge lake that is now Manitoba. You might laugh, but this is how life really is for me! Some may see a commercial on T.V. and think absolutely nothing of it. As for me, I think of how much money would have gone into making the commercial, how many people were involved in the process of creating the commercial, and why the company chose that particular commercial to advertise their product, when there were probably many other options to choose from. 

It's not like this every second of every day, but this gives you a little glimpse of what sort of things happen in this head of mine. So, the whole point of this post (there's always a point, after all) is to remind myself, and everyone else, to quiet the brain down a little bit, every once in a while. I can just tilt my head back, close my eyes for a while, breathe deeply, focus on that breathing, heave a few sighs, sometimes I clench and relax my muscles, and then I feel like my brain is coming out of a giant vice. Try it! You don't have to follow the "instructions" or anything, as these are just a few suggestions that have helped me out before. I am certainly not the expert in this, as I very rarely do this sort of thing. But, as I make a vow that I will do this far more often, for my own physical and mental health, I encourage you to join me. What could it hurt, right? Let's take more time to relax and calm down, maybe take some time to go pick up some rocks to think about (=P). There. That's the Brittany version of "stopping to smell the flowers/roses". We would all feel so much better if we relax a little more, and that causes one of the best possible chain reactions. Enjoy!

Once upon a time, there was a canoe...

It feels great to be back to "busy bee" status recently. My summer job has gone from being totally boring to extremely busy, as I work towards being able to close my office for the summer. I took a road trip with my dad to Fargo, N.D. last Friday, where I became a licensed Zumba instructor Saturday, and, Sunday, my lovely friend and I had an unexpected situation, involving a canoe. That's where the post actually begins. Get ready for a story! It has a nice point, though, I promise.

So, the aforementioned friend and I decided that we wanted to have some sort of a "beach day". She had never gone canoeing before, so we figured that coming to my family's campsite and going canoeing on the lake was a great way to pass a Sunday afternoon. I was very exhausted from the Zumba training I did the day before, so a relaxing canoe ride sounded even lovelier as the plans were made. 

We headed to the campsite, my dad got the canoe all ready to go, and we started our little journey, oars in hand. We rowed a little bit, for fun (my friend was so excited because she felt like Pocahontas), then decided we were just going to float and drift for a while. After a nice, long chat on the lake, we decided that it was probably time to get back. When we went to dip our oars back in the water, we realized how far away we actually were, from our starting point. It was alright, at first. We would paddle a little bit, then rest and talk...then paddle some more. The waves were starting to get pretty big, for a lake, which we didn't really think much of, since there were a few boats that had been zooming around us. One even stopped to ask if we needed help, but I politely declined. 

By the time that our attention was fully drawn to getting ourselves back to shore, we didn't really know where the shore was. Once we decided what direction we had to go, we realized how windy it had become. This strong wind was blowing us away from our destination, and the waves this wind had created were also putting us off-course. My friend and I rowed and rowed and rowed, but it didn't seem like we were getting any closer to our journey's end. The ever-growing frustration expanded when the wind blew us ashore, causing us to exert ourselves, even more than we had been, to get us back on-course. This happened a second time too, which made our efforts seem even more fruitless. Our arms were aching and becoming less and less functional, and we were incredibly parched, but if we stopped for even a second to rest our weary limbs, the wind would blow us back to where we had been moments before. We rowed as hard and fast as we could. Once I caught a glimpse of the shore we wanted to get to, we just had to keep telling ourselves that we were "almost there". After an extremely long time of rowing in frustrated, determined silence, we got back to shore, where my dad was waiting, laughing at us. It turned out that he had asked the people on the boat that had stopped, to check on us, so he knew we were okay. 

All was well. We re-hydrated, bought some ice cream, and went home to relax.  

There was certainly a point where I had almost given up. That doesn't happen very often with me, since I'm terribly stubborn, but I was trying to think of an easier way we could get back to the dock that didn't involve the way we ended up getting there, in the end. But, I came up short. There was no other way. 

Basically, the point to this story is: no matter how exhausting and frustrating that journey was, and how hopeless it seemed to be, our goal was still achieved. Sometimes, you may have to do things the hard way to achieve the best results, or the only results. You may have to go through frustration, anger, exhaustion, sadness, or what have you, to reach your desired destination. No matter how hopeless your journey may seem, though, if you are really willing to work hard to get to your destination, you will always come out with your head above the water. Let's face it, rewards are so much more appreciated if you have to work a little bit to get them, right?