[For those who feel restless] Just looking up at the stars in a park at night. That was the ultimate "recharge."

Until recently, for some reason, my body felt heavy all the time.
My shoulders and back were stiff, I felt sluggish for no reason, and it felt as if my heart was being dragged down by that weight.

That changed suddenly when June arrived. It started when I began doing yoga alone in a quiet nature park at night. And just like that, the time spent dozing off while looking up at the stars has become my greatest pleasure.

Why do I run out of battery even though I'm "taking good care of myself"?

I have done many things to keep myself balanced. I've gone for walks while muttering to myself, and I've done journaling to write down the fog in my head.

These things are very important. In fact, they are necessary habits for me, and I have no intention of stopping them.

However, I recently realized something. Both talking to myself on walks and journaling are tasks of "releasing" what has accumulated inside me. You vent and feel refreshed, organized, and lighter. But when you think about it, that was alsoa time of "discharging" by wringing myself out.

It's important, but sometimes that alone isn't enough to reach the feeling of being filled up. I had that feeling.

Why is a "night of doing nothing" the best "recharge"?

There is no one in the quiet nature park at night. After loosening up my body with yoga, I just sit there and look up at the sky.

I can see the stars. A breeze brushes against my cheeks. I'm not thinking about anything, and I'm not doing anything. I'm just dozing off.

But strangely enough, I realized that this "time of doing nothing" isa time of "recharging" where I am being filled up. And this doesn't cost a single yen.

Come to think of it, when I was in high school, I used to walk along the riverbank near my house with friends at night. Perhaps I have been secretly helped by nature at night since back then.

I realized after the rainy season started that it wasn't the "place" that was important

The rainy season has started in the Kanto region, too. Even so, I go to the park almost every day when it's not raining. It has become that much of an indispensable time for me.

Of course, I can't go on rainy days. But what was important wasn't the "place" of the park at night itself.Allowing myself time to do nothing—that was the real recharge for me. The place was just a catalyst, and on rainy nights, I just need to find my own "time of doing nothing" for that day.

"Time spent doing nothing is a waste." If it were the old me, I would have thought that. I felt restless if I wasn't doing something, and I even felt a sense of guilt about resting.

But now, I think this: just looking up at the sky, being blown by the wind, and dozing off. That kind of time is the white space of life. And a life with white space is one where it's easier to breathe.

Do you also have time where you just look up at the sky? If you'd like, please let me know.

You try too hard to "take care of yourself" and end up wearing yourself out instead. If you felt like you could "relate" to any part of this article.

I have compiled the habits that helped me return to myself through talking to myself and journaling into a book. I wrote about the journey of an introvert who is tired of meeting expectations, learning to relax their shoulders and breathe easier again. Please take a look if you'd like.