Relaxation

You'd think that, as a workaholic, I know nothing about relaxation.  Not true.  Problem is:  if I don't curb my fatal attraction to relaxation, I could become a slug.  There's a very fine line between workaholism and slug-ism.

Let me explain.

If I didn't have so many darn things to do, I could spend days on end reading.  In fact, when I was a kid, I'd check out 12 books from the library on a Saturday.  (That was the maximum kids could take.)  They'd all be read before the following weekend...like by Wednesday.  Right now, I could easily read three books a day--if I didn't have anything else to do.  Or I could walk the beach...if Montana had an ocean.  When I lived in Massachusetts (and my kids were college age or older and I was single), I'd take my puppy and walk the beach for hours.  Talk about relaxation.  Hardly anyone else walks the beach at 6:00am on a Saturday--regardless of the time of year.  And if you do happen to run across someone, they know enough not to speak.  A polite little nod is all the interaction needed, thank you.

Because of Montana's lack of an ocean, I do the next-best thing.  I sit on my front porch here in the Rocky Mountains, mug of tea in hand, and watch my ten acres of pine trees sway in the breeze.  Okay, 9 acres of pine trees--one acre is cleared.  And okay, some of the trees are firs (Douglas or grand) and others are larch (aka tamarack).  But they're mine.  And they look SO beautiful with the backdrop of an endless Montana Big Sky.  (At left, Ponderosa Pine backlit by Big Sky.)

There's something so restful and peaceful about the ocean ebbing and flowing, or a breeze caressing through acres of evergreen needles, or hurt-your-eyes glare of the summer sun on a mountain stream.

When I allow myself to relax, everything opens:  my mind, my heart, my imagination.

How do you relax - and how does it affect your world?

Alan Orloff is my interviewee on Author Exchange Blog today

http://lindamfaulknertips.blogspot.com/2010/09/interview-with-alan-orloff.html

The Inkling

Check out the latest issue of my newsletter, The Inkling.

BetteBoomer.com

BetteBoomer is born!  For those of you born between 1946 and 1964 - or those of you who are curious about us folks, check out BetteBoomer.com!

My friend and business associate, Terre Short, has not only created BetteBoomer, she's looking for writers to contribute to the wonderful site.  For writers wishing to contribute, click here.

FYI, I am an UberBoomer on the site!

Let me know what you think.

What do you do when inspiration strikes?

If inspiration strikes when I have pen and paper nearby, I jot everything down and the story has a happy ending.

Usually, however, inspiration has a habit of striking when I'm in the shower, on a 5-hour road trip to Billings, or in the middle of a business meeting.  Yeah, yeah, I know all about my unconscious working without interference and that's why ideas come when my hands or mind are otherwise occupied.  I should be happy inspiration strikes, right?  Tell that to my memory.

You know when I'll remember what popped into my mind during the business meeting?  When I'm in the shower.

I have, however, solved the problem of inspiration striking when I'm in the car.  Which is a good thing, because my daily commute ranges from 60-70 minutes each day.  And most months of the year, I have at least one long road trip.

My solution:  a voice recorder.  I spent $50 for a Sony recorder that works with Dragon Naturally Speaking (I'd put the trademark here, but I don't know how to type the symbol).  I can keep the device nearby and switch it on when I want to record or I can use its voice recognition mode. 

It's amazing how much MORE often inspiration is striking now that I can make a quick recording.  I take the voice recorder with me everywhere:  it sits on my desk at the office, at my beside at night (Stephen just LOVES that), and has a place of honor in the cell phone pocket inside my handbag.  I actually think it's become more valuable to me than my cell phone.

What do YOU do when inspiration strikes?