Restoring ourselves: what feeds you, your work and your wellbeing?
Recently I’ve spent more time WFH than usual, due to the side effects of my ongoing cancer treatment impacting my energies. I’ve been ploughing on with my work but it often feels like Groundhog Day - sitting at my desk, head down. I’ve been lacking the stimulation that keeps me alive and kicking!
I had a day in London yesterday and it was just what I needed. A coffee at Ozone in the City, a stroll up to Shoreditch and then another coffee with Steve on Redchurch St for a very stimulating catch up.
Then I met up with Zoë and we mooched around some of our favourite shops. We were given recommendations from the very knowledgeable Lloyd in the gorgeous Libreria book shop, picked up some new fiction and then headed back to Redchurch St, popping in and out of shops and chatting to the people who work there. These little conversations really lifted us.
We wandered up to Arnold Circus for a late lunch at a restaurant we hadn’t been to in over ten years, arriving early for our booking in the hope our table would be free. It wasn’t so we waited on a bench in the sun, facing the glorious garden. This spot is such an oasis in the heart of a busy urban area. It's on the site of a former school playground; the school buildings are now home to design studios and architectural practices. The lunch was perfect.
As we chatted, Zoë helped me reflect on why the day was so meaningful for me. It’s what I’d been craving: breaking free of my four walls to enjoy the rich variety of those experiences. I’d drank coffee, felt the urban buzz, touched and talked books, had a really energising conversation with my mate from Seattle, got creatively inspired by all the sights and sounds, chatted to people in shops, mulled over business ideas. I guess I’m a sponge: I’d been a bit dried out and was desperate to soak things up! I returned home, nourished and enriched.
Yes, living life with cancer has been tiring lately, and people suggest I should rest: but getting out and about and feeling alive is actually how I restore myself.