Camping trips allow plenty of time spent working up a sweat, going on long hikes, canoeing, and otherwise being physically active in nature. In fact, it could be argued that if you’re not getting a good amount of exercise in, you’re missing out on one — or several — of the key benefits of camping in the first place.
That being said, there will be times between your active adventures and physical feats when you want to sit around and not do much. Recharge your batteries and just take it easy.
Here are a few great, relaxing things you can do on a camping trip.
Catch up on your reading
Enjoying a good book is a low-tech way of getting your mind off the distractions of everyday life. It’s also a thing which many of us doing do enough over the course of our regular routines, what with TV and the internet to occupy our evenings, clubs and bars to occupy our weekends, and spreadsheets to occupy our working days.
When you feel like spending a day lazing around the campsite, there are few better pastimes you could indulge in than cracking open a good book and having a read.
Take up meditation
There are many different forms of meditation out there, and the very word tends to conjure up mental images of bearded old monks on top of mountains, chanting to themselves.
In all forms of meditation, however, the key is on directing your attention in some manner, as a way of detaching from the mental chatter which often distracts us. While on your camping adventure, take some time now and then to just sit down and focus on the beauty of the natural world around you. Listen to the birdsong, inspect all the different colours of the leaves. Just allow yourself to get completely focused on something outside of your own mind.
You’ll quickly find that this simple practice has the power to deepen your sense of calm and relaxation dramatically, not to mention boosting your own appreciation of nature at the same time.
Share stories around the campfire
Without TV and the internet (you DID leave those at home, right?) entertainment has to be had in more classical and traditional forms.
One of the best ways of staying entertained is by sharing tales around the campfire, if you happen to be camping or travelling with others.
During our busy daily lives we can often fail to spend an adequate amount of time interacting with the people around us. A camping trip can be the ideal time to rectify this. Share some jokes and some anecdotes around a roaring bonfire, let your friends know about those odd deals in Dubai, or pass on that ghost story that’s been haunting you since childhood.
Write
Writing can be a great way of focusing the mind, whether it’s in the form of working on a new novel, writing a postcard, or filling in entries in a journal as a way of recording the exciting happenings of the day and getting your thoughts out onto paper.
Taking a small notepad with you on your travels, and jotting down a few simple thoughts when the mood takes you, is a great way of unwinding and investigating your own thought processes.
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