Enter the Friday Freedonist

Today I kick off my new feature, The Friday Freedonist, where I’ve decided to try to capture some of the free-or-nearly-free hedonistic things I like to do on Fridays to get a good reset going into the weekend.  My rules for this activity are simple: It has to feel luscious, and it has to cost less than five bucks.  (So yes, sticklers, it’s not always going to be free, but it’s always going to be darned close).

The Muddy Buck – an older pic, but you get the idea. Sweet place to find yourself.

You’ll find me this morning sitting at the Muddy Buck, the little coffee shop in my hometown where I like to curl up in an armchair with a really good coffee, my journal and pen, sometimes good music plugged into my ears.

This place has been around for more than a century, having been a hotel lobby at one time, where the tourists would come up from Denver to enjoy the clean mountain air for a weekend.  They make a really great Cafe Americano that I dose up with cream to get that fragrant steamy coffee-rush. I usually pick one of the big comfy chairs where I can put up my feet without anyone looking askance at me, and with a view of our old downtown, decorated for Halloween.

I’m tense when I sit down.  It’s been a busy week work-wise, no time for much playing (read: slacking) and it’s taking me a little time to breathe my squirrel brain down into a relaxed state.  For this reason, this time it’s decaf, just to try to switch off the “What’s next?? What’s next?? What’s next??” jitter in my mind.  I close my eyes and take five deep breaths, and as I let each out, I visualize sinking deeper into the green plush chair, letting my neck and shoulders relax.

I write, I sip, I think about things.  It takes a while to flip off the static and really hear what’s going on inside.  Am I happy these days?  If not, what can I get rid of – what’s keeping me from staying in a state of goodfeelingness — or at least contentitude — all the time?

I jot a few things down to help me get back to me:

Maybe watch the sodium in my diet, which makes me feel like a bloated sea cow.

That client that’s been super-disrespectful of my time?  Enough.  She’s getting kicked off the island next week.

Maybe I need to build a little more play into even the busiest days; fifteen minutes of jawing with a friend on the phone or wandering around the local art gallery is not going to cause financial ruin for me. In the back of my journal I keep a few greeting cards, some funny, some just pretty.  If my mind fastens onto someone, I’ll grab one of those and jot a hello to them, make a connection.  I do that now, to my old friend Kim who lives in a tiny cabin in the California foothills, who I know doesn’t receive much in the way of mail.

You get the drift.  I can sit here for a while, then when my cup’s empty, I may do a little window-shopping on my walk back home. I’ll smile at people who walk by, just to get the little serotonin spike you get from smiling.  I feel lucky.

Everyone has some version of the Muddy Buck within striking distance of their life:  A quiet corner at the library, the park bench next to the lake, a fallen log in the local open space.  Time and space is something we can give ourselves that can make us feel wealthy beyond measure, for next to nothing.

What:  Taking some downtime with a luscious beverage in a beautiful spot
Why: Relaxation, freedom, regrouping
Green?:  Walking, not driving, works for me. Bonus points if you find a shop that serves fair trade coffee.
How Long:  60 minutes including the foot commute (or longer). Can use as a substitute for a lunch hour (lunch costs extra)
How Much:  $2.75

What’s your favorite free or cheap activity that makes you feel great?

Category: Entertainment, Friday Freedonist, Fun, Leisure, Local