The Journey's the Thing…

Today is Friday, and aside from a brief snooze in the late afternoon a couple of days ago, I haven’t taken a really good nap this week. I always feel extremely well rested and, oddly enough, sleep better later that night. I also have very vivid and colorful dreams during the day. I read somewhere that that is because of the natural daylight during REM sleep. I don’t know. All I know is that I like to nap, and my cat naps with me. She always senses what is going on and hops up on the bed, curls up in the crook of my armpit, and is soon purring away. We bond that way. A little QT with Miss Kitty. So I’ll plan on a nap this afternoon, around 3PM or so.
I have to put this kind of self-healing into context with the rest of the crazy world going on outside. War, political upheaval, death, disease, all that stuff, can weigh pretty heavy on my little noodle. I have a natural drive to run around and try to get as many things done today as possible. Call it a Protestant work ethic, overcompensation, manic behavior, or being a busy-body, but I have come to the realization that there is nothing so pressing in my life that can’t wait until tomorrow. I’m not being lazy. If I plan 7 things to do today, and by some miracle, I complete all 7 tasks, I will be run down and exhausted. This is not healthy. If I am able to concentrate on 3 of those 7 tasks, and complete them to the best of my ability, with care and understanding, I will be a much happier person. In this gogogo world we must all learn how to stop, take a look around. Take the speakers out of your ears, stop running to “the store”, turn off your TV, and sit down. There is no competition. There is no race. Quit the life of a lemming. Live as a Human Being, not as a Human Doing. Relax. Recharge. Renew. You don’t have to always be on the go. There is no such thing as “doing nothing”. So do something else. Me? You know what I have planned. See you in Dreamland.

Johnnyboy

I love receiving mail. There is a childish part of me that jumps at the chance to have Christmas every morning when I go to the post office. My email can have the same effect. This morning, after I had waded through a small puddle of spam I found a letter from my sister, who is travelling in Iran with her husband. He is Iranian and they have been married for about 5 years now. She has an Iranian passport so she can travel freely in that country. She keeps her US passport safely tucked away lest it is found by the Iranian authorities. If that happened she’d be deported and would never be allowed to come back to Iran, a country that she has grown to love. Her email was more about her next little series of travel plans through the 1st of July, but there was one interesting bit. Because she has an Iranian passport, she is allowed to vote in the current run-off election between Rafsaanjaani and the other, more conservative, guy. I find all of this very exciting. To think that by voting we can change the world, even in small ways, is a great leap from the idea that one king, dictator, tyrant, benevolent despot, CEO, mullah, or Top Dog can make all of the decisions shaping our lives. We must never give up on this belief that we are making a difference when we vote. Only fascists want us to think otherwise.
My therapist cancelled my appointment this morning, which has now freed up an hour for my own fun. I think I’ll go over to The Salvation Army and Goodwill and see if they have any nice shirts or something. I really love to shop at those places. Even though I can afford more expensive things, I find great satisfaction in knowing that by buying used clothing I am not contributing to the sweatshops of the world. Plus, where else can you find Ralph Lauren for $3?