To put it in a nutshell, Americans are always Busy. When I googled "busy americans," these were the first three results:


My favorite is the third result, from a handbook to help international students at the University of Pennsylvania become accustomed to the American lifestyle. The full quote from the search results is as follows, "Americans also tend to believe they should be doing something most of the time. You will often hear Americans talk about how busy they are, which often is true, but also is simply expected. To not be busy, since everyone is busy, may be considered rather strange. This results on a positive active range of campus activities and organizations."

It's funny to read aloud, but it's the truth. We Americans do tend to believe they should be busy for most of the time. We do talk about being busy all the time. It's built into our lifestyles; we're taught to be busy and not to waste time from day one.


Being this busy most often leads to stress--believe me, I'd know! When I start to feel the stress creep up on me, I try to remember that I really do need to take the time out to relax. Today, I'll be doing 7 of these things...hopefully I'll relieve myself of some stress, right? Here are 10 ways you can fight stress (in no particular order):

1. Listen to your favorite music
2. Turn on your favorite movie
3. Work out
4. Laugh
5. Call up a friend you haven't talked to in awhile
6. Go to bed early
7. Get creative: write, draw, compose, paint, etc.
8. Read
9. Spend time with your significant other
10...

I think number 10 deserves a whole paragraph. It comes from the title of this entry.

Take the time to smell the flowers! Take the time to appreciate the beauty of your surroundings. Go for a leisurely walk, go for an easy bike ride, or even go for a brisk run--just be sure to look around you. Look at the vibrant colors of the sky and the grass. Watch and listen to the birds as they chase after each other. See the wildflowers blow in the wind. Find a perfect spot to watch the sunset. Listen to the soothing sounds of a river, lake, or ocean. My favorite part: capture it. Bring your camera along.

Because who wants to miss out on this?