Are we all doing too much?

Posted on September 7, 2011 Updated on September 7, 2011

Today I sat down. I grabbed a cup of ice tea, picked up the magazine I purchased last week, and I sat down. I took the pillows from the couch and made a makeshift ottoman on top of the pillows and put my feet up. I moved the magazine to my lap, turned my computer on just to hear some soft music in the background, and I began to read about flowers and using a marker to decorate.

    Before I knew it, my eyes had inadvertently closed and I soon realized that this phenomenon that was taking place was called resting. I think I like this trend because what happened next was even more amazing. I took a nap. In the middle of the afternoon, I sat down, read a magazine and took a nap. When I woke up two hours later, I discovered something else astounding; the world did not end.

    I was now rested and even felt relaxed. I did not feel the tension that had piled up between my shoulder blades and had been pressing down on my spine. I did not feel the pins that were usually boring into my temples trying to push my eyeballs out of their sockets. I was not overcome by the violent urge to sock someone in the face to end the incessant prattle. I felt calm and almost rejuvenated. I think I like this rest thing.

    For the first time in several months, I had a clear thought that started in my mind and went all the way through the thought process without my Alter Ego’s interruptions. You know when Alter Ego butts in and tells you to get up off your duff and go do this. Yelling at you with reminders of all the things you should be doing but are not. The irony of Alter Ego’s rudeness is for naught because when you get to the kitchen, and open the fridge to get your car keys, you are now thinking that you are hungry. Your car keys are not in the fridge, but in the bathroom because you ran out of toilet paper and were heading to the store anyway. Since you were going to the store you needed to know if there was any milk left and if you needed more OJ. This is was really the reason you went into the kitchen and opened the fridge. After you opened the fridge and saw the ice-tea you decided to pour a glass and instead of drinking it over the sink, you decided to sit down.

    I am glad you decided to sit down and spend some time with me because here, in this spot, in this moment, the voices in my head are quiet. You are laughing at me and at the many times that has also happened to you. The magazine just happened to be there taunting you to pick it up and use it like a dirty rag. No matter, my chores are not going anywhere. I still need toilet paper, and those dishes should not be in the freezer, but the kitchen sink……but when I actually find where I left my keys, maybe I will go and do something constructive. In the meantime, I am just going to sit here because today I realized that sometimes, I am just doing too much.