Relax, Release & Relate

Hi,? I’m Dee the author of numerous blogs and another one in the making.? I’ve known Dee from Cocktails With Mom for about 8 months online.? Yes, we’ve been chatting back and forth since the idea of Cocktails With Mom was just a thought in her head.? I was there when she had the idea and name but not sure how it would come across.? After all, the term Cocktails may have you thinking of things other than her intent here.

I fully understand the concept and the hesitation due to the misconception it may convey.? Let’s see Websters defines cocktails as:

Main Entry: 1cock?tail
Pronunciation: \?k?k-?t?l\
Function: noun
Etymology: probably from 1cock + tail
Date: 18061 a : an iced drink of wine or distilled liquor mixed with flavoring ingredients b : something resembling or suggesting such a drink as being a mixture of often diverse elements or ingredients <a cocktail of remembered incidents and pure imagination ? Charlotte Low> <a cocktail of herbicides> c : a mixture of agents usually in solution that is taken or used together especially for medical treatment or diagnosis
2 : an appetizer served as a first course at a meal

Not quite the intent here is it?

The idea of cocktails here is a way to do the three things Cocktails With Mom was founded on.? Relax, Relate and Release.? Looking at how people use cocktails in movies and real life they’re used to relieve stress and unwind, usually after a rough day at work, a stressful day with the kids or a means to socialize.? That can all be done without the use of alcohol so my definition of cocktail is anything used to release stress and help you relax.? See, that covers the first concept of Relax.?? A cocktail can be anything you want it to be,? favorite non-alcoholic drink, for me it use to be Pepsi now it’s writing,? for Laverne De Fazio it was Pepsi and milk.? For some it may be sitting outside on a nice spring day reading a book, and for others it could be as simple as talking to a good friend.? Whatever it is that helps you relax is your Cocktail.

Now onto Release.? When you’re relaxing your body and mind you’re releasing stress, the stress that can cause you to lash out, build walls and pent up anger and hostility.? Those stresses aren’t healthy and can cause ulcers, failed marriages and headaches.? Releasing these stresses or the effects of them opens your mind and you can feel.? Usually you feel better about life and people.

Relating can only come after you’ve relaxed and released the stress.?? Only when you’re mind and emotions are free can you be open with people, relate with them on a personal, positive level. That relating is healthy. We all need people or as Barbara so nicely put it in song.? “People who need people are the luckiest people in the world.”? We all need people and we can’t have meaningful relationships if we’re stressed and keeping things bottled up all the time.

So, the next time you find yourself in the middle of a crises in your mind, stressed out and feeling like a volcano that’s ready to erupt, reach for your favorite cocktail and Relax, Release and Relate.