a day without driving

What? That’s right, no driving anywhere today. I am in a suburban neighborhood and I chose to actually stay home and think and read and relax and plan and think some more for the day. It was fantastic. This may sound completely ridiculous to the rest of you, but for me, this is huge.

Never do I simply sit and relax, never do I just spend a day working out in a relaxed fashion and then moving into a mellow meditation and onto a day of reading, researching, thought, and writing. I had no idea I could be so productive without running around like a chicken with my head cut off. A day without driving is a day I spent breathing deeply; A day I spent reflecting and enjoying. What a gift. I highly recommend it.

xo
a

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  • http://www.avitable.com Avitable

    I work from home and run a company with several employees, so staying home and thinking and working, but also relaxing, is part of my daily plan. You can get a little stir crazy when you do it five days a week, though!

  • Brittany

    Hey Allison. Great idea! Sometimes, I stay home the whole weekend. It’s great. I watch movies, Smallville, tv, go on the computer and just completely relax. I don’t think its ridiculous at all. To me it’s a perfect way to breathe and to concentrate on oursleves.
    Much love & support,
    BrittanyXOXOXOXO

  • Brittany

    *ourselves

  • http://www.myspace.com/rostafarian Ross UK

    I find those sorts of days really productive. I never feel as if I’ve accomplished more in a day than when I’ve been at home and started working on something that meant a lot to me and pursued it all day long. The danger of spending time at home like that, though, is that unless you are focused on something it’s easy to potter about and waste the whole day. Also, I often find when I’m home all day that I tend to snack a lot, but when I’m focused on something that I’m enjoying, time flies and I realise that sometimes the entire day has gone by without my going to the kitchen to grab something to nibble on – saves me a fortune in money and weight…

  • http://twitter.com/KFrentzen Cristina Frentzen

    You know, this is pretty interesting: a day without driving as a special day when we supposed to drive in another way; to drive our consciouness to inside of us, reflecting, thinking about anything and everything; a day without driving as a day of a wonderfull and unique travel throughout ourselves… I’m all in!

  • Michael C

    Luckily I have a lot more time on my hands than you. I spend most of my summer holidays like this before I have to go back to uni. Plus, I can’t even drive.

  • Kristin

    Hey Allison what a wonderful way to allow yourself to de-stress. I live in NYC and no longer have a car but I spend most of my days running around trying to keep up with all the people around me! So instead of taking a day and not driving maybe I will take a day and take an extra long bath and curl up with my kitty and watch a good movie and take time for me :) Thanks for this blog and hey we are all allowed to pamper ourselves every now and then, no matter how grand or simple the reason may be.

  • RUPena

    That’s basically what I do every weekend. I wish I was as lucky to do it during the week.

  • http://www.myspace.com/analfabeta Gnome

    I sooooooooooo envy you right now…

    I kinda need to find a way to relax while still agited, like those people who manage to sleep when they are stand…

    I don’t even know if I’m going to like if I stay still, apart outside world just relaxing…

    Anyway,

    Enjoy your moment…

  • http://www.rate.ee/users/dreamwalker Dream_Walker

    Fresh air and clear blue sky is best :P I dont drive by bike to work and back and i enjoy long walks its very relaxing, i do like to drive but lately i enjoy more fresh air :P

  • Susana

    Wow see another way that I find you so amazing Allison!! I could never ever do that lol I mean I HAVE to drive at least once a day I don’t know I feel like it’s a get away for me lol even though it might sound dumb it is I mean thats the one thing I know I have for sure that I can go anywhere I want to. Even though there is not much around where I live because come on Utah sucks lol! But I mean driving is that calm thing for me but like you I also really enjoy staying home & reading & just working out & all that it’s fun.
    Do you have a wii Allison? Because thats also very fun when your at the house :)

    Take Care

  • Kris

    I’m torn on how to respond because I love days at home putzing around, but I seriously love driving and being in my car. This is the time of year, too, when I can put the windows down and just cruise. I do most of my best thinking in the car vs at home. When I’m home, I find all kinds of things to distract myself…TV, internet, etc. I don’t get much hardcore thinking done ;)

  • Jette

    I spend the day studying for my history examination. Just sit, read and research. But it don’t feels like a gift to me at all. :)

  • Silvia

    Quote: “I highly recommend it.”

    - So do I. :-)

    xo
    Silvia

  • Jesse

    Hi Allison

    Sometimes it’s just great to sit and relax and reflect on everything that is going on in your life. I hope it was inspiring reflecting and you got a lot of work done. Ummm

    -Jesse

  • http://www.twitter.com/shsmallgirl Ally

    it’s great that you’re taking time to relax.. I do that at least once week.. please enjoy your day..
    XO

  • Carissa

    I spend almost everyday at home, but babysitting my 2 year old nephew while my sister finishes school, so relaxing is kind of off the table, lol. Going from one extreme to the other is a little overwhelming sometimes, I just bought my first car and I can’t wait to get back on the road! I’m beginning to think I spend too much of my time living domestically, I can’t wait to get out and get my inspiration back!

    I guess the trick is finding balance between the two. Sounds like you needed your day off so I’m glad you got it, sometimes a margarita helps the thinking process ;)

  • jennygirl

    I love days when I am just staying home. Easier for me as I have the summers off, so I have the luxury of time on my side. But it is lovely.

  • Joe

    wow awesome :D

    I was browsing through earlier blogs & found that not too long ago (nov.08), you had 2 modes of operation.
    “1. Very vibrant, committed and aware aka performance mode, or
    2. Totally quiet, often despondent, and quite shut off aka not performance mode.”

    It seems a lot has happened since then? =)

    I think the capacity to find joy in being with oneself is totally amazing..
    Enjoy your day :D :D :D

  • thomas

    Check out this video, I think you will enjoy it. It is very relaxing.

    Bare Necessities from the Jungle Book.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ogQ0uge06o&feature=player_embedded

  • Chad C

    I’m afraid that it’s impossible for me. I have to get out and do things. i went cycling with my friend to the pub yesterday, there and back. it is rewarding in itself to get out and do things – something i only recently discovered. it seems like an impossibility to go back to the monotonous life of the man who never leaves his house…

  • Jenny

    Best idea I’ve heard all day.

  • http://www.daybow.com David Hayes

    Thre years ago, my daily commute went from 4 minutes total to 2 hours total. Some people like the time to be out and unwind. To me it was 2 hours of productive time lost and it left me too tired to do much else in my free time. Before I started the longer commute, I was writing about 100 stories a year. After, nearly none.

    But I do find I need to go somewhere else (to have an obligation away from home) to give me the structure to get something done. If I stay a home, there never seems to be a good enough reason to get out of bed.

  • arash

    yeap, I am looking forward to retirement too.But this is no vancouver where I live. The grass defrost for a short period. The birds’ a capella is a one time show. I had pain in my muscles this morning from yesterday, but it was GOOD pain !!

  • Lydia

    This is one of the things I love about my life…being at home and relax, reflect, look out of the window, read, write, listen to music, study, watch TV, … and just, enjoy me-time, the calmness, being alone with my thoughts and dreams.

    That is the advantage of living alone and being single, I can treat myself to these moments of pure bliss quite often.:-)

    I’m happy yo have let yourself enjoy a day at home and, I hope you’ll do it again.

  • http://N/A Irene

    There you go…relax. Enjoy the air in your lungs.

  • http://www.daybow.com David Hayes

    These blogs seem to have a “Planes, trains, and automobiles” [and buses and ferries and walking] feel to them. I’m amazed that you can go so many places un-bothered by people. There are probably a lot of people out there seeing you and thinking “She looks a heck of a lot like that girl from “Veronica Mars!”"

    Anyway, if you are still in the New York area or returning there soon, I just now read a little about a monument in New York (or the Jersey shore) built as a gift to us from Russian in 2002 as a memorial to 911. It is a huge teardrop hung in a monolith. It is supposed to align with the statue of liberty. I saw a few photos, but I am curious whether or not, at a certain angle, the monument puts the tear on Lady Liberty’s face. It’s strange that the monument hasn’t gotten a lot of publicity.

    -Andy Wartfrog c/o of DH56

  • Hardish

    Good for you hun! Enjoy your day..
    I love staying home and just thinking… it’s awesome :)

    xoxo

  • lisa fitz

    a day of to relax is what we all need now and again, sometimes its just so easy to get swept up in the hustle and bustle of life we forget about just us!!! hope that u get to do more of it :)

    best wishes xxxx

  • Aziza

    Breathe and mellow out Allison. You deserve it. Recharge for another highly-charged, fun filled, meaningful day.

  • Aziza

    yet you make a relaxing day so productive. which we should all do. more often.

  • Lynsey

    I almost never get to spend a day at home just reading, writing, thinking, and relaxing but I did exactly that yesterday. I love my life but between work, friends, and family, I seem to be running around behind schedule most of the time and there’s never enough time to fit everything in. I have to remind myself occasionally that the world won’t stop if I take a break for the day… not sure I could manage any longer than a day though!

  • http://www.myspace.com/analfabeta Gnome

    I feel like if I had to pay someone to do that in my place…………

    My boss is on vacation and I’m screwed here…
    You know the part you said like “running like a chicken with no head”?
    Exactly the perfect way to define myself right now…

    I’m just waiting untill a hit a wall and get knocked out.

    Maybe I do some relax while in coma…

  • Robin Hebert

    My favorite thing to do, to just take time and enjoy life!!! To do the things that really make me content!!

  • http://Allisonmack.com Smallvillekent

    On Sundays I like to sit an relax and read the paper. Also watch Smallville DVDs and just chill watching Allison and the gang. It is nice not to drive the car for a day or two if you can. We all need a day to relax! Peter

  • http://reelartsy.blogspot.com Karen

    Yes! Relaxing at home is good for the soul.

  • Ana_Sullivan

    That’s a really great idea Allison! In some way when I read your blogs I think is funny, because, we have the same way of thinking and doing things. I don’t know if that’s because we born in the same day or what, but it’s really funny.

  • Dana

    I hate that we live in a society where relaxing and taking time for ourselves is equated to “doing nothing” and “wasting time.” For me personally, the second I start slowing down, the guilt starts creeping in. I’ve been trained to think the only way I can be productive is through moving, checking off my to-do list, not stopping to take a breathe. Perhaps if I could just slow down for a second, step back and reflect on what I am doing and where I am trying to rush off to, I would realize a clearer direction from point A to point B…or maybe I would realize I am on the wrong path altogether.

    I think I need to ask myself for often, “Dana, what are you really trying to accomplish?” Sometimes I create quite arbitrary things to do simply because I can’t stand in the stillness. I need learn to be okay with the calm and the quiet. Sadly, I think people like myself who have trouble doing this are actually people that have trouble with themselves. Why don’t I like to be alone? Why don’t I like to reflect and relax? It forces me to think about me; it takes away the distraction of the outside world. I’m afraid I’m not going to like what I find. I’ve become so comfortable with the pigeon-hole I’ve been stuck into that to find out I’m not even who I think I am…scary. That’s one reason why I really like this blog. Even when I don’t post, I often take the time to settle down for a moment and just think.

  • Charles

    Wow, that’s a great way to think about it. You made the “laziest” day sound so enjoyable and gave it meaning!

  • william

    I probably do this to much! lol. It is great to just sit back and think/chill sometimes. gald you took a day off allison and are enjoying it. btw on the home page I never noticed the car on the right, I was like “what? was that always there?!” funny. see ya later,
    william

  • http://usb2005.spaces.live.com Sabi2

    Hi, this is the first time I read your blog :)

    I live in Barcelona and never been to the US, and I think it’s real different for us, we (my husband and I) don’t even have a car!! as far as we can get to our jobs with buses and the “metro” (Sub?) there is no need to waste all that money in car, insurance, maintenance, parking…

    And about having time for your self and enjoy reading and relaxing it’s just great, I use to do it before having our son, Ulises, nowadays it’s similar to you, when you finally find the time and the moment it’s just GREAT :)

    Have a nice week!
    Ana

    PS. forgive my english, please.

  • Adam

    I’m sitting in my office thinking about the next two episodes wondering what’s going to happen. Pathetic, I know but I haven’t got squat done today.

  • nkc

    I would love to be able to sit and just be with myself.Be with thoughts,and remember who i am.I am going through so many trials and tribulations right now.I dont know who i am anymore.

  • Robin

    Every once and a while it’s nice to have a little time to just sit down, relax , have a cup of tea and just ponder, although rather than write I tend to scribble, doodle and draw…

    It feels as though most of the time I merely stumble through each day not giving enough myself enough time to see where I’m going…but when do any of us actually stop still long enough to look around at where we are, what direction we seem headed and simply muse, consider and imagine…

    Thanks for sharing your thoughts Allison.

  • http://pa-labellavita.blogspot.com Paloma

    Hey Allison!
    Take a break, for yourself.

    i’m from brazil, and we love you here. :)

    xoxo
    Pa.

  • MarilyneL

    I am living in a constant rush, but I agree that the only days off at home, taking the time it takes to do whatever you want, are priceless.

  • Jade Ruby

    I was just reading about the dichotomy between being active and being a person that is not so active, which was a very sharp debate during the 1930s.

    Joseph Kreuter, a Prussian Benedictine monk of St. John’s Abbey, Collegeville, Minnesota, 1930s plan to awaken interior spirituality among religious communities was the antidote to what he called “the heresy of the age,” namely the idea that “the more active you are the better you are.”

    One of the most poignant SF stories I have ever read was “Alas, All Thinking” written in 1935 by Harry Bates, whose classic 1940 short story “Farewell to the Master” was the basis of the 1951 science fiction movie The Day the Earth Stood Still. There is a plate from the 1935 store on this site, although the negativity of the review is a reflection of today’s attitude about “being active”.
    (http://davidszondy.com/future/Dystopias/thinking.htm)
    And it is sad how this scenario is about the extinction of the human race.

  • Jade Ruby

    P.S.
    Bate’s story takes place in future NYC. Heh.

  • thomas

    Tranquility… a dream within a dream

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VZyNKrYo9I4

  • Maria

    Lately I’ve been dying for a day like that!! But I think soon I’ll have that summer coming and all!

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