What does it mean to relax?Despite hearing this term thousands of times during the course of ourlives, very few people have deeply considered what it‘s really about.When you ask people (which I have done many times) what it means to relax, most will answer in

　　a way that suggests that relaxing is something you plan to do later you do it on vacation, in a hammock, when you retire, or when you get everything else done. This implies, of course, that most other times should be spent nervous, agitated, rushed, and frenzied. Very few actually come out and say so, but this is the obvious implication.Could this explain why so many of us operate as if life wereone great big emergency?

　　It is useful to think of relaxation as a quality of heart that you can access on a regular basis rather than something reserved for some later time. You can relax now. It‘s helpful to remember that relaxed people can still be superachievers and, in fact, that relaxation and creativity go hand in hand.When I‘m feeling uptight, for example, I don‘t even try to write. But when I feel relaxed, my writing flows quickly and easily.