Skogluft (Forest Air). Jorn Viumdal

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       FATIGUE IS ONE OF THE MOST COMMON CONDITIONS IN MODERN SOCIETY

       A gentle breeze blows across the sheltered bay. The sun warms your toes as you wiggle them in the soft sand. You’re sitting on your favorite beach looking out to sea, and the distant cries of the seagulls ring in your ears—

      “Ahem! Ah-hem!” That was no seagull—it was your boss. She apologizes for disturbing you and asks: “Is that chair comfortable to sit in?” She thinks you look a little uncomfortable. Maybe you should be looking for a job somewhere else? Somewhere with more comfortable chairs, perhaps? You hurriedly assure her that the chair is excellent for sleeping—I mean, sitting in—and that, of course, you are content with everything. No, no, you weren’t sleeping. Yes, yes, you’re completely sure. The meeting continues. You sit up very straight in your (not very comfortable) chair and try to focus your wandering attention on the next agenda item. You were lucky. This time.

      Some of what makes a vacation feel so different from everyday life can be brought back with you into your home and your place of work.

       Important Info

      If you’re the type who daydreams about the mountains or the sea or the forest instead of making that phone call, washing that load of laundry, or closing that deal, you’re not alone. Many people—including your boss—reminisce fondly about their vacations (and perhaps even a touch bitterly, because they seemed much too short).

      At the risk of disappointing you, this book is not about showing how to turn every day into a vacation. Experiencing the peace and contentment of a vacation in the midst of a busy work life filled with obligations is difficult—if not impossible. But some of what makes a vacation feel so different from everyday life can be brought back with you into your home and your place of work. And doing this doesn’t require complicated feats of technical engineering or a steady drain on your bank account.

      How often do you feel tired in the middle of your day, as if you can’t possibly take one more meeting or phone call? By late afternoon, have you used up every ounce of the energy you felt in the morning? Have you come to expect this lethargy as inevitable, with the only antidote being a cup of strong coffee or a large candy bar, the sweeter the better?

      If your answer is “Why, yes, every day at around 2:30 I want to curl up under my desk or under the laundry hamper and take a long nap,” join the crowd—this is, unfortunately, an age-old problem in the history of the human race. More than two thousand years ago, the ancient Romans complained of fatigue as their towns and cities grew larger and their everyday lives became further removed from nature. Having recently shifted from an agrarian to an urban way of life, they felt the urge to travel out into green areas in search of rest and relaxation.

      As in so many other realms, the ancient Romans were forerunners in stress reduction: They recognized that something crucial was missing from their lives and sought out solutions to the problem. Today, there is a plethora of solutions offered by scientific advances and a heightened awareness of the impact of environmental factors. But when you begin to sleepily count the hours to the end of your workday and yearn for a nice hammock in which to sleep the afternoon away, chances are you’re not thinking about what lies behind this onset of fatigue. But unlike the Romans, modern people have no idea what lies behind their ailments, and as often as not lay the blame on themselves.

      I have a term for that nagging sense that something is missing: “lacking nature.” СКАЧАТЬ