Today is a Bank Holiday in the UK, which for some people means an extra day off work. Not for retail workers or other services, or for the self-employed (though many of us get to choose if we work or not). Often we (the British) moan about poor weather on days like this. But today is glorious weather – I’m currently sitting in the park on my way home from the gym and wishing I’d got my sunglasses and packed shorts instead of jeans in my bag!
I had no plans for the bank holiday. To be honest I’d forgotten it was a bank holiday until a few days ago. My husband often podcasts with a friend on Mondays and he was planning to do that today, so I thought I’d just see what I felt like doing. I did a bit of work this morning, and thought I might do some blogging this afternoon. I made myself a packed lunch and was just about to head to the gym when my husband’s plans were cancelled.
Suddenly I had an overwhelming urge to ‘do something’ with the day. I didn’t necessarily want to, I just felt like we should. I was free. My husband was free. It’s a bank holiday so we shouldn’t feel we need to work. It’s sunny and warm, so we should be outside. I feel like this a lot. I should be relaxing. I should be having more fun. I should be enjoying life more. I should…
But maybe that’s not what we want. Maybe one of us, or both of us, don’t feel like going out today. Maybe today is a day that some people are out having fun with family they don’t often get to spend time with, and maybe they’re outside enjoying the sunshine they don’t often get to enjoy. I’m very lucky that I do get to spend time with my family and friends (and particularly my husband), and if it’s a nice day I can usually choose to spend it outside. I don’t feel the urgency to ‘make the most’ of today’s bank holiday.
So I’m removing the guilt of not having enforced fun, and I’m having a pretty normal day (work, gym, sitting in the park, blogging) and taking enjoyment from that. Sometimes I find the pressure to relax and have fun overwhelming. I lead a fairly relaxed life at the moment and take pleasure from some of the normal day-to-day activities I do so I don’t feel a need to take as much dedicated time out as I used to. Today I’m feeling very grateful for that so that’s my Monday Cheer.
I hope you are enjoying your day whatever you’re up to 🙂
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