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do other people take 'down time'?

AMHAMH
edited March 2012 in General Banter
When I talked to my counselor last she seemed surprised (not in a bad way) that I don't watch TV. We have movies and netflix that works for series but I really don't watch much of anything on TV. It wasn't a bad thing but I take things very seriously and am always working at something. She had to explain that it was okay to just sit and watch TV.

So last weekend when the kids were with their dad for a birthday dinner I went to a movie by myself. I think I was the only solo female in the theater but that is fine by me (I saw Safe House, a testosterone loaded bloody action film, loved it).

I wonder if other people take downtime on a regular basis, not work on the novel or plant a garden down time, just really spend some time doing something that requires no thought.

Comments

  • DakiniDakini Veteran
    Couldn't LIVE without down time! But that doesn't equate to cluttering the mind and energy field with junk on TV. I find that staring at the walls can be very productive, very creative time. Or meditation, the ultimate down-time. Walks are down-time for the mind, if you have a nice natural environment to walk through, and can enjoy the sounds and fragrances. Listening to music, also very inspiring.

    Funny-your counselor seemed to assume that the reason you didn't watch TV is that you felt that TV-watching was not ok. Rather than assuming you didn't like TV.
  • AMHAMH
    Hmm, I do read a lot. And it isn't the high literature but instead Stephen King and Patterson and I am up to #20 of the Alex Delaware series.
  • DakiniDakini Veteran
    edited March 2012
    That's a form of downtime. I was going to list reading, but my reading requires thought, so I thought your counselor might disapprove of that one, ha. It boils down to how we define downtime.
  • ThailandTomThailandTom Veteran
    Yep, a whole lot of my day is downtime, remember I am a male with a 'nothing box' in my brain :p But seriously I think many of us, if not all of us have a certain amount of downtime, even if we do not realize it.
  • RichardHRichardH Veteran
    edited March 2012
    We are sandwich people, meaning we are sandwiched between child care and elder care. So downtime is precious, if only for physical health.

    We go down to the old Market on a Saturday.. It is bustling and colourful. I hike the trails on the nearby Niagara Escarpment any chance I get.
  • Ada_BAda_B
    I have a chronic illness and I've had to learn to pace myself very strictly. So I suppose you'd say that I have several hours 'down time' every day, but it is absolutely essential. I like to play computer Hidden Object games (I like the horror ones), watch TV shows on my computer (I seem to have an aversion to actually watching things when they're broadcast, LOL) and I listen to BBC Radio 4 all the time (it's the talk radio channel in the world - fantastic stuff.

    Like this morning I listened to a program about the French, medieval wine trail, a program about the changing face of the British monarchy and in a few minutes, my favourite satirical comedy show, 'The Now Show' is about to start.

    I also sew, make cards and occasionally decorate. But I am determined to enjoy life, despite the things that hold me back.
  • SabreSabre Veteran
    I wonder if other people take downtime on a regular basis, not work on the novel or plant a garden down time, just really spend some time doing something that requires no thought.
    Yes, meditation :P
  • seeker242seeker242 Zen Florida, USA Veteran
    edited March 2012
    When I talked to my counselor last she seemed surprised (not in a bad way) that I don't watch TV. We have movies and netflix that works for series but I really don't watch much of anything on TV. It wasn't a bad thing but I take things very seriously and am always working at something. She had to explain that it was okay to just sit and watch TV.

    So last weekend when the kids were with their dad for a birthday dinner I went to a movie by myself. I think I was the only solo female in the theater but that is fine by me (I saw Safe House, a testosterone loaded bloody action film, loved it).

    I wonder if other people take downtime on a regular basis, not work on the novel or plant a garden down time, just really spend some time doing something that requires no thought.
    Yes, every morning and evening for about 30 minutes, just breathing in and out. It's very helpful! No thinking required to breath in and out. :)

  • RichardHRichardH Veteran
    edited March 2012
    uh... I was going to say zazen but then thought...no, zazen isn't down time...zazen is in the thick of if. Downtime is getting coaxed by my wife and her sister to go and get my feet done with them... in a place with vibrating chairs and new-age music piped in.
  • ToshTosh Veteran
    Yes of course I take down time; it's what I'm doing right now. I remember early on in my recovery from alcoholism, running around and trying to save the world from drunks, or working, or running around trying to be nice to my family.

    I ended up quite resentful after a short space of time.

    So now, I make sure I have 'down time', but I try to do it with the motivation that'll it'll make me a nicer, kinder, human being. So even when I'm chilling, I'm doing it for the sake of others.

    How pompous am I? :D
  • ZaylZayl Veteran
    edited March 2012
    I hardly watch actual TV. I may geek out to some anime on Netflix or adult swim from time to time, but that's all that is worth watching to me. I dunno, everything just seems to be the same quality as "The Big Bang Theory" Essentially a dumb show about smart things that are dumbed down even further. No offense if you like the show, everyone likes some stupid humor every now and then. However not only do I find it not funny. I find it unfunny. Meaning I can be laughing beforehand then I see the show and all of a sudden I get depressed, it is that bad. So, yeah.

    I do like my downtime though. I just spend it in other ways. like walking outside now that the weather is beautiful. Or chatting with you fine folk on here. Or playing some Minecraft or Skyrim, or reading porn or something. It all depends.
  • AMHAMH
    uh... I was going to say zazen but then thought...no, zazen isn't down time...zazen is in the thick of if.
    That is what I was thinking. Zazen is a turning off of the mind but is sometimes very hard work. I may not agree with everyone but for me sitting on the cushion is not a flowers and butterfly kinda experience most of the time.

    But I do agree having some downtime makes me a nicer person to be around, I recall stretches of my life where I haven't had much of it at all and I know I was stressed to the max, and others were stressed along with me.
  • mithrilmithril Veteran
    I do watch TV a few times a year, usually because i forget how lame it is and have to refresh my memory. Its just that i don't enjoy things that are so fake, censored, overblown, simplistic. Why rather not do the real thing; volunteering (like at a hospital) in the actual thing or going to see something related (animal show, gun show etc); or just simply traveling is just simply so much more fun.

    Down time with no thought? Not really, that sounds horrible XD I'm the kind of person that gets bad grades not because i didn't work or study; but would read and work on so many OTHER things at the same time that the "real thing" got pushed into the background a bit =P
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