Stop and Smell the Roses...

According to the recent survey “Stress in America,” a large majority of Americans suffer from extreme stress on a daily basis. This survey also reported that parents had elevated stress levels and concluded that, as a result, children and spouses are quite often negatively affected. Taking time off of work and leaving the hustle and bustle of one’s daily life is a key factor in stress reduction. Traveling is a terrific way to escape daily stress altogether and discover cultural differences at the same time. When visiting Australia, in particular, tourists will discover a noticeably slower-paced lifestyle primarily because Australians take precious time every day to relax and enjoy an Aussie “smoko.”

I have been exceptionally fortunate to be able to travel all over the world with my parents. As soon as I arrived in Australia there was a definite time difference. I’m not talking about the obvious difference in time between Australia (Oz) and the USA. By the way, it is already tomorrow here and a tropically sunny day. The moment I landed in this country I observed that Australians were less stressed and had a slower-paced lifestyle. This intrigued me. Why is it considerably slower in Australia than in the United States? After a couple of days of immersion into the Aussie culture, I had an epiphany. The Aussies have a twice-daily necessary ritual that they “will keep until the kangaroos come home.” This custom is known as smoko, the Aussies straight-forward prescription to stress reduction.

According to Wikipedia a “smoko” is a term used for a short, often informal break. Among the sheep shearers in Australia, smoko is a mid-morning break between breakfast and lunch, when a light meal may be eaten. The Aussie’s are dead serious about having their smoko breaks! They might be mad as a cut snake, miserable as a bandicoot, buggered or flat out like a lizard drinking but would they ever miss a smoko? "Not on your Nelly!" Smoko is the Australian answer to “Stop and Smell the Roses.” It doesn’t matter what you’re doing. As an illustration, one day, I noticed a telephone repairman hanging in a sling seventy-five feet up in the air. He was so incredibly focused on his intricate line repair. All of a sudden he glanced at his watch and quickly scurried down the pole to grab his Esky and join his mates in a smoko break. Why is this twice-daily “time-out” so beneficial? Americans get a couple of breaks from their jobs every day. The key point here is that all of your mates stop work at the same time. Therefore, they all get together to wind down, take a breather for 20-30 minutes and have a bite to eat and spend some social time together.

On the contrary, in California where I am originally from, people don’t drop in to their neighbor’s homes anymore for morning or afternoon coffee or tea. Not true in Australia. Every day at our house we have at least three groups of people stopping in “to have a yarn.” They always bring bikkies, cakes, scones, or another confectionary masterpiece; slices. In fact, if morning smoko isn't enough to get you energized again, keep in mind that they also have afternoon smoko. My Dad gained 20 pounds here this year, and that's because he thoroughly enjoys smoko and the cakes! The most compelling evidence that I have to support my theory is that my Dad was so stressed from living in America; in addition, his cholesterol levels were through the roof when we first arrived in Australia. Given these points, after indulging in his numerous daily smoko breaks, he is off of his medication and has chilled out immensely. Some days he has six or seven smoko breaks with our drop in guests and visits to our neighbor’s homes. The bad news is that he is now addicted to the Aussie bikkies and slices.

Another thing that amazes me about smoko is no matter when you go to someone's house the ladies always get out all of their cakes and slices as if they have been baking for days on end. I'm talking fresh, not frozen and certainly not Sara Lee! I used to ask them, "Were you expecting someone to drop by?" But now I know better; these women are always fully equipped and ready for the masses.

In summary, I know you will agree that taking time out from the daily grind is an essential part of stress reduction. A well-needed vacation incidentally, is a key factor for stress relief. Yet, for some of us, it is just not a possible option right now. In the meantime, I am suggesting that one takes time for an Aussie smoko every day at their work place or at home with their family. Not only will you notice your lifestyle slow down immensely you will also get the benefit of spending precious time with those people that you cherish.

AUSSIE SLANG TERMS

Mad as a cut snake - Insane

Miserable as a bandicoot - Most unhappy

Buggered - Mad, angry, upset

Flat out like a lizard drinking - Working non-stop, flat out.

Not on your Nelly” - Absolutely not, under no circumstances.

Esky - Another name for an Eskimo brand cooler.

Have a yarn - To have a conversation or tell a story, which more

or less at any given moment contains a dubious amount of exaggeration.

Slice - A slice is kind of like a candy bar or a cookie baked in a flat pan.

Bikkies - cookies

Scones - Similar to an American biscuit always served with jam and cream.