Drop out to tune in

How much are people supposed to get done in a day these days? A few months ago I was feeling especially burned out. It got to a point where I made a conscious effort to change it in order to not have to switch jobs. Especially in the last couple of months, work has become just work, I've been taking breaks (what a novel idea), and have not been worrying about work when I'm not there. I've beem striving to live more balanced, including slowing down. Slowing down as in not constantly racing from one place to the next, slowing down in the sense that you can only multi-task so much, attend to so many people at once, and most importantly still take time for yourself. While at the pharmacy a couple of days ago to get some antibiotics (the first week of May seems to always make me come down with something), I picked up one of the free health magazines. This is one of the quotes from it that I'll hang on to:

Tune in to you - Stepping away from the everyday noise of life allows you to tune into what really matters and to live life on your terms insead of from what 'should' be done. Engaging your body and becoming present makes you mindful of energy exchanges - noticing your impact and what's impacting you. In the quiet space created by dropping out, you'll tune into the natural rhythms of life and the universal flow.

This kinda goes along with a quote by John Muir that I came across last year:

Thousands of tired, nerve-shaken, over-civilized people are beginning to find out going to the mountains is going home; that wilderness is a necessity.

Another thing that has also been so-not-like-me is that I've been plugging through the past couple of months without planning things ahead. Sometimes I'll decide what activities to embark on the same day, sometimes I'll just change my mind, and sometimes head out without knowing where I'm headed. For a few weeks I had been on a waiting list for a hike/summit near Abraham Lake, a place I've been wanting to explore for months now. I finally made the list, so was really excited. Just last night, though, I decided against going, as it would mean very little sleep and getting up before 4:30am. Instead, I've decided to focus on me; I will take some 'me' time tonight and generally take things slow, get 8 hours of sleep, eat breakfast on the balcony if the weather is nice, and then embark on a bike tour of south Calgary to get some distance on my new bike. I haven't taken it out for this distance yet, so it'll be a bit of an endurance test. The plan is to ride approximately 60km, going a bit along the river, 37th Street, through Fish Creek, as well as a bunch of other parks before looping back through Inglewood.

The photo below is of Bankside in Fish Creek.