Schmo is the personal website of Stuart Curran, a UK-based designer.

Getting high: elevation as meditation

Here’s a simple technique for your mental health. Getting high. Not with drugs. Just get to a high place.

Who really has the time for classes, apps and the anxiety-inducing lists? Most people overlook the obvious, preferring to seek help through a screen.

Changing your perspective is mind-changing.

Some reasons why people struggle to relax.

  • You have to make time to take a time out 

  • Your work-life balance has no balancing point 

  • You feel like you need to create a routine

  • Your options feel locked down

  • You don’t know what works

Getting high is easy. Here’s how, step-by-step:

Step 1: Find a high place

Think of a place in your neighbourhood with a view (I use a hill that is 5min drive from my house) and go there. If you are at home, go upstairs. If you are in a room, stand on a chair.

Step 2: Recognise your elevation

Once you are there take a moment to notice that the view has changed. What you see now is different even if it is just a very small change of perspective.

Step 3: Contemplate the perspective

Take in the details of what you can see and let your imagination take over. What happens over there? Where is that person going? What if I were this tall all the time?

You have just successfully used your body to refresh your mind. Next time you see someone else looking stressed, just tell them to get high.

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