Taking a break? Here’s what to do when your brain doesn’t want to slow down.

Photograph of the 1789 Crane in Luneburg by Ralf Roletschek

Hey smart human! 

Last week, I got to spend six wonderful days in the North of Holland, in a villa on a lake. 

We had no plans, just a whole bunch of books, great food and lots of water around to play in. 

I honestly don’t often go on trip like this - I tend to travel to look at art. Lots of it.  

And I must admit I was a bit apprehensive at first - despite bringing a massive pile of books to read (I really love having an old Volvo station wagon). 

In the past, when I went on ‘nature’ trips that weren’t very physically demanding, my brain would start a revolt. 

It would rebel against the perceived monotony (see one tree, seen them all) and start catastrophising just to have something to do.

The result: a whole lot of unnecessary anxiety. Let’s face it, there probably aren’t axe murderers behind every relatively large tree in the average Dutch forst. 

But this time round, I knew what to do. 

I was going to magnanimously indulge my brain. 

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Instead of magically making it ‘calm down’, I decided to meet it with kindness. To treat it like a rather hyper dog that I needed to keep throwing a tennis ball for until it had finally happily exhausted itself.

The tennis ball for my brain? 

I gave it permission to do a deep dive into regional history and folklore. 

To read Wikipedia articles on any tiny town, forest or historic building that I came across. 

It was delightful. 

It kept my brain busy - but in a nice low stakes stressless way. 

It kept my family mildly entertained as I kept sharing gems like ‘did you know that the builder of the worlds’ oldest still working planetarium was banned from his hometown.’ (Although eventually they did tell me to shut up). 

And it was delightful to learn so many new, probably pretty useless but overall fun facts which I will have no problem forgetting again. Except of course for the fact the the Old Crane in the German town of Luneburg was used to hoist up a British-made locomotive and lots of railway track, and thus, in a way, was an agent of its own demise. 

So this weekend, and all Summer, if you’re trying to relax and your brain starts to sulk, instead of fighting it simply indulge it. 

Throw something at it it can amuse itself with, instead of running around you in circles trying to get attention.  

Don’t force that super powerful clump of cells in your head to be still if it doesn’t want to - it won’t work. 

And when it’s gorged itself on the history of Andalusian cuisine, Steam Locomotives in Germany in the 1840s, crazy cryptograms or whatever you choose to feed it, that’s when you get to relax together. 

Happy brain - happy human. 

Have a gorgeous weekend,

Else a.k.a. Coach Kramer