Are we all just a little bit frazzled?
And how can we wake up and enjoy our lives
I recently discovered the wonderfully descriptive word ‘frazzled’. Of course I knew of its existence and meaning previously but an interesting turn of events led me to finding it’s dictionary definition.
Frazzled – extremely tired in a nervous or slightly worried way after a lot of mental or physical effort: it was a stressful day at work and by 5 I was completely frazzled!
Well. I wonder, are we all just a little bit frazzled? I’ve been listening to an audio book by Ruby Wax – A Mindfulness Guide for the Frazzled. She says we are sleepwalking through our own lives. Is she right? And how do we wake up?
We have sent rockets into space to explore the cosmos but have for some reason neglected to explore ourselves. We just keep trying to achieve and compete ‘stuck in a state of frazzle’. Worrying about the worry and brooding about life. In her book Ruby gives some recommendations for ‘the best holiday destinations to rest and refuel’ . She isn’t talking about physical places like the Castaway, but rather exercises and tips to lead us towards that elusive concept ‘happiness’.
I feel that staying in places like Castaway is a step towards reminding us to live in each present moment of our lives. To smell, to see, to hear, to touch, to taste. To just be, and enjoy every second, before being swooshed back into the whirlwind of daily toil in our everyday lives.
Digital Detox
It is worth mentioning – after an explosive argument with my eldest (11yrs) regarding Smartphones. Well, it was more of a heated discussion on his part whilst I was calmly trying to explain a reasonable expectation of how many hours one should be allowed on YouTube. This ranged from zero (Mummy’s POV) to 8hrs+ (pre-teen’s POV). Apparently that is reasonable because hey – “you spend all your time on your phone Muma”! Yikes – he’s not entirely wrong there is he. As much as I like to think I don’t – I probably do spend whatever is classified as ‘too much time’ with my eyeballs on screen.
Here in Llanthony there is a natural break from screen life. At Castaway there is absolutely no mobile signal, nor WiFi so you really can sit back and relax and not be tempted to check your emails or the family WhatsApp group (the only hope for me is to secretly unplug the Farmhouse WiFi – I wonder when they’ll start to cotton on).
I can report Hay Festival this year was fantastic. The kids loved Tim Peake, I bought a book for Castaway (which I may have to accidentally read first). The Art of Stargazing by Dr Maggie Aderin-Pocock. She hosted the session with Tim and in truth I had not heard of her before, they were both very engaging. Astro science is now a favourite subject in this house… for the time being at least
And so, the kids are exploring Space, I am trying to be Mindful and hopefully, you are looking forward to your next trip to the peaceful Llanthony Valley for a well-deserved ‘wake up’ and to enjoy each moment, just as it is
Escape from your Land of Frazzledom and come visit us soon
Best wishes
Bryony & the family – x –