Sun, sea...and laziness

I have discovered the joy of being lazy: doing nothing out of choice; doing nothing because it feels delicious and decadent; and most importantly, doing nothing without a side helping of feeling awful. This is perhaps the biggest - baby! - step on my recovery journey.

When I was really unwell, I did so much nothing that all I wanted to do was something; I became obsessed with getting off the sofa. Maybe it is because the situation was forced on me; maybe it is because the kind of nothing you do is so far from relaxing because it was generally accompanied with feeling unwell, discomfort or pain; maybe it is because there was no balance in my life – trust me too much nothing is dull. (When friends who were having a busy week at work would say to me ‘oh, I so wish I was at home on the sofa today.’ The key word is today. They didn’t want years of lying on a sofa, just a couple of days break from the relentlessness of work, where as I was craving a couple of days break from the relentlessness of the sofa.)

But something strange - and rather wonderful - happened this holiday: I positively enjoyed being lazy. Lying around is fun. Doing nothing is fun. Wasting time is fun. I have seen the ‘do nothing’ light!

If I look back to when I was really unwell, I had this image of ‘normal’ life in my head which was all about being busy. But of course, most people are busy some of the time and lazy some of the time; and they savour their laziness because it is a treat, a break from the treadmill of work and life.

And this holiday, I experienced that. For the first time in years I was looking forward to going away with the sole purpose of relaxing. Normally our trips are about sightseeing and experiences; why would I want to go away to do nothing when I spent a lot of time doing nothing at home? But this time we actively chose Tenerife for some sunshine and relaxation.

My life is now busier. (Okay, not busy in a ‘normal’ sense but hey busy for me.) And the few weeks leading up to my birthday where all about lists and organising; I was actually busy enough to crave relaxing.

And oh how I relaxed. (I actually got a bit scared that I had relaxed so much I may never start again.) Lots of sleep was followed by leisurely starts to the day. I would get up, make my breakfast and watch an episode of Sex and the City. (It just seemed like the perfect start.) I would then write my journal and then gently persuade myself it was time for a shower. I would then do my yoga by the window overlooking the sea – heavenly.

We would then go out for a few hours to explore a part of the island: the volcanic landscape is weird to look at, not necessarily beautiful but a fascinating part of nature; we visited the Capital for a city fix and some authentic cuisine; we drove along the coast with the roof down soaking up the warmth and fresh air; we found gorgeous bays to admire with waves lapping over rocks and exploding like fireworks; and we amused ourselves by visiting one of the tacky parts of the island where full English breakfast’s were the most popular offering and pink beer bellies paraded along the sea front (so proud to be British).

Sampling authentic cuisine in Santa Cruz (no English breakfast's for us!)

And then it was siesta time – I love Spanish culture. Then ‘Chef Mike’ (Husband...) experimented in the kitchen (his idea of relaxing) whilst I read my book. Fish stew, garlic prawns, octopus where a few of the offerings that we enjoyed on the balcony overlooking the sea. Then to wind down from our 'busy' days we watched a film or read. (And being well enough to read makes me smile every time I pick up my book.)

The view from our balcony...and perfect location to enjoy Chef Mike's creations!

And here is the crux of the matter: relaxing is fun, being ill is not. And being well enough to relax may sound like an oxymoron – but actually it is delicious, decadent progress.


Do you enjoy being lazy? What’s your idea of relaxing? Or are you one of the busy people?! Would love to hear your thoughts...xx