Reflection & Action: I’d had a busy couple of weeks with projects, commitments and deadlines on every front. When the calendar cleared one day last week, I decided to pause and step away for a mental wealth day. That’s the kind of day when you focus on making a few sizable deposits in the sanity bank account.

I spent ten minutes in the office, cleared a few urgent messages, put an away message on my phone, and settled in to enjoy the open space.

As the day unfolded, I puttered in the garden, visited on the street with several of the neighbors, lunched in the sun on the back deck, napped in the hammock, chatted by phone with several family members, and enjoyed the fish in the pond and the birds in the trees.

A greeting card from my sister arrived in the mail that morning and set the tone for the day. The front cover featured a figure reclining in a hammock under a palm tree with these words: “Nowhere to go and all day to get there….” That became my mantra for the day!

I love that sentiment, it’s such a contrast to what we are more likely to experience in our everyday lives: “Everywhere to go and no time to get there!”

One of the most popular delusions in today’s world is the belief that we cannot step away from our responsibilities – that without our constant vigilance the world will come to a grinding halt. It just ain’t so!

Though life doesn’t always lend itself to a mental wealth day, it may be possible to create a mental wealth moment or hour.

So go ahead, step away from the world from time to time and see what happens! And as you step into that openness of time, try breathing in the possibility that just for now, you have: ‘Nowhere to go and all day to get there!”

Quotes Of The Week: My own prescription for health is less paperwork and more running barefoot through the grass. – Terri Guillemets

Sometimes a headache is all in your head. Relax. – Terri Guillemets

Resource Of The Week: IZ, Israel Kamakawiwo’ole, is (was) a most beloved Hawaiian musician. If you’re not familiar with his music, check out his rendition of Somewhere Over The Rainbow. It’s the music that was featured in the greeting card that prompted this message. The IZ rendition of this classic is sure to lift your heart. So pour yourself a cup of coffee, invite your colleagues in the next cubicle over, sit back and enjoy his music and the fantastic Hawaiian scenery.

Readers Write: SF writes: Last weekend I did something I’ve thought about for a couple years.  I bought a small water fountain for my deck.  I love the sound of water trickling and find it so relaxing. Since installing the fountain, I’ve taken several mental wealth breaks (sometimes only a few minutes; sometimes longer) and I LOVE IT!!  It seems to shift the gears down for my whole day!