Free time and downtime are an important part of well-being. But, many times people get antsy when they aren’t being productive or use an entertainment vehicle like the internet or TV to zone out. Maybe you have forgotten what you even like to do since there is "never any free time."

This back to school time is a great time to uncover things you love to do. I took a free astronomy class at our local nature center last night. I got the Recreation Sign Up booklet in the mail with classes like Zumba, crocheting, genealogy, and beading. Why should the kids get all the fun classes?

Our library has groups like book club, art journaling and writing.

I get the local paper’s RSS feed to go into my Google Reader so I know all the free or inexpensive events and classes coming up, like the $2 Gem and Mineral show put on my the local gem club.

Why don’t you make a list of things you might be interested in learning more about or doing?

Pick one and do something with it for 15 minutes this week, whether it’s looking up local groups/classes, scheduling time to do an activity or learning more about it from the internet.

Frisbee Golf

What would it feel like to use your free time to light you up?

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Photo by Steve Hicks

For the past 58 my grandparent’s church (and my Mom’s old church) have gone camping over Labor Day weekend. It’s been the the same spot most of those years, but we had to go to a new spot this year. We still had a lot of fun with old friends and family.

We knew it was going to be a good place because we saw a couple Great Blue Heron’s, my comforter on walks this summer.

We took my Grandparent’s out for ice cream that had the real ice cream.

We played at the beach. My niece Maggie got her first introduction to chilly lake water. She decided she was not impressed.

My daughter caught many fish with a little net. She is patient and determined. As a group of little groups gathered to see her fish, a water snake surprised them all. Brea was so excited as it swam right by her.

The two ducks below were our constant companions at the beach. I love their coloring. Does anyone know what kind of ducks those are?

We went canoeing after breakfast when it wasn’t so warm. That’s me in the hat below. The next day my husband and I took me out on a rowboat, which felt very romantic. And I didn’t have to paddle.

We were canoeing right through lily pads and lotus flowers.

We hiked around the lake numerous times. My daughter took almost 1000 pictures over the weekend. All these pictures are from her. I love how this ducks lined up on the branch.

Along the trail we saw little signs like the one below, faded with time.

In the evenings we would play games like Scrabble, Boggle, and Quirkle. And catch up with each other’s lives. One evening my husband brought a frog visitor in.

 I love this tradition of getting together with friends and family to celebrate the end of summer. Do you have any traditions for the end of summer?

Playfulness embodied my son. He much preferred to play than work. And had all sorts of ideas on how to get out of work. But, he discovered he could actually work hard if he brought a spirit of play to it. From cracking jokes while painting, to doing silly things while helping clean up, to using accents. Just because it’s work that doesn’t mean it can’t be fun.

Jon and Brea

Often we procrastinate because we know something won’t be enjoyable. Playfulness makes things lighter and feel less stressful.

In the Simplify Your Money Systems class last night we were talking about this very thing. Someone wanted to know how to discipline themselves to get the paperwork done. And I suggested a different route – fun! For many of us, trying to get into discipline brings out the inner rebel.

What is something you have been procrastinating on? How could you make it more fun?

• Pay bills by candlelight, music and a fun hat.
• Do dishes with the window open so you can see & hear the birds.
• Dust to music that makes you want to move.
• Sort papers on the floor in front of the TV.
• Remembering that the work is optional and you get to choose it can help.
• Do things in a new way.
• Make your to do list fun to look at with graphics and things you look forward to on it.
• Read the comics to get you into a better space before you do some work.
• Concentrate on the process and make it enjoyable. When you concentrate on the outcome or the next tasks you start to feel constricted.
• Trips to the grocery store can be scavenger hunts.
• Bake cupcakes to take to what you know will probably be a boring meeting.
• Hand out stickers.
• Dress up.
• Color as you try to sort a problem
• Ask yourself "What’s the most fun way I could do this?
• Write in color.
• Wear a temporary tattoo.
• Reward yourself after your task with Angry Birds.
• Only do exercise you like.
• Pretend to be French when you go to the grocery store.
• Look at the J Peterman Catalog and read a little story of an outfit. How would that person do your task?

What will you do to make your next task more fun?

I love creating simple pleasure lists sometimes, just to remember it doesn’t take a lot of time or a lot of money to enjoy life. Some simple pleasures I have been enjoying:

• Fresh picked strawberries
• The breeze on a warm day
• The Great Blue Heron that fishes along the wetlands I walk

Photo from my daughter, Brea

• Hugs
• My daughter doing laundry without being told
• Getting a note from my nephew
• Petting my cat
• Playing Life with my daughter
• Motorcycle rides with my husband
• Nurturing plants
• Learning a new recipe
• Getting creative with an outfit
• Going to the farmer’s market

What are some simple pleasures you have been enjoying lately?

More and more of us are spending almost all their time indoors. And our kids are not getting out into nature as much as we did as kids. I remember spending most of my summer outside. This lack of nature is not good for us since connecting with nature is so nurturing. Nature reduces stress and makes you feel connected to something bigger than yourself. It wakes up your senses.

Yellow flowers from our nature walk the other day

Here are some ways to step out of nature deprivation:

• Use the internet to find local trails to hike at least once a week
• Plant a garden or at least a few flowers
• Go to your local fairs and see the produce displays and farm animals
• Pick strawberries, apples, your own pumpkin, etc at Pick Your Own farms
• Learn local birds and plants
• Go to the beach
• Have electronic turn out times where you can outside as a family
• Take your kids to the park
• Go on a nature scavenger hunt where you look for things like a red bird, a ladybug, a mushroom
• Take an evening walk after dinner
• Get out into the country and see the stars
• Catch and release frogs, salamanders or fireflies

When can you fit a little nature into your life and your family’s life this week?

So it was my Sabaath, my day of rest. I watched TV program after TV program. The day before I had all sorts of plans for reading, walks, listening to music, playing with the jigsaw puzzle with the kids.  Much of my day was gone before I was shaken from my zoning out by my stomach growling.

I had two choices. The first was what I used to do – GUILT. "I can’t believe you wasted the whole day. You are so lazy. That is time you can never get back. Wow, you are pathetic." I know, lovely isn’t it? All that does is make my energy go down even further. And make me want to zone out more.

The second was what I try to do more often – SELF-KINDNESS. "You must have really needed to rest and zone out. Don’t we feel much better? And we even have some more hours in the day to play."

So I got to take a walk with my daughter, read my novel, write some friends, do yoga and some visual journaling. Without the guilt.

I wasn’t the only one that needed a rest – my cat Thomas did too

This morning during my quiet time, I did a collage on passion and joy to celebrate a new season.

Collages can be insightful reminders of what is truly important to you. I was reminded of how much I love to dance. About how important spirituality is to my life. And that nature brings me joy.

Now to schedule my passions and joy into my life. I know dancing in the morning for exercise makes me happier than doing an aerobics DVD. I feel more renewed taking a walk or going on a motorcycle ride, than I do watching TV.  I want to live life knowing I am doing at least one thing I love every day. Days of drudgery is not a full life.