Grabbing Your Peace

Young people enjoy constant movement and entertainment—in short—non-stop fun. As a child, Sundays shut down my neighborhood. Occasionally, an adult crept from their front door into their car, but the kids stayed hidden, and the streets empty. During the winter, you might have heard melting snow. Silence ruled the day. Bored and restless, it was my most least favorite day of the week. 


Flash forward several decades and I’m loving my Sundays. I enjoy the pausing, the exhaling, and the napping, and group naps add to the fun. Picture several family members watching TV as the cat nestles nearby. Before long, everyone’s snoozing while the world’s cares drift away. And that’s the thing. Sunday’s a time for relaxing and casting aside worries. We’d be wise to do it before this happens: 

                                         https://youtu.be/FkiDh3tgaSk                          

 We often go-go-go when we’re made to go-sleep-repeat. We’re not designed to constantly push through fatigue, and ignoring our natural make-up results in illness, not peace. Along with napping, how else would you spend a restful Sunday?      

A Golden Rule

Two rules to remember: don’t close your eyes while using a treadmill or while showering. In an earlier post, we reviewed the potential result of over relaxing on a treadmill and anytime the shower steam tempts you to close your eyes—resist! One misstep and you’ll have a problem. After I closed my eyes, I bumped the wall, but not hard enough to cause an injury. Few of us always appreciate rules, but watch what happens when we ignore them:

                                         https://youtu.be/_4Uucys-B8o  

Not fun. Well, the crowd had a huge laugh and even the officer took pictures. Most good rules are for our safety, not to limit our freedom. But, as we know, we have choices. Not following good rules leads to consequences and don’t we hate consequences? Which rule do you wish you had followed?  

Do Something Different

Few adults would pass up an opportunity for a good catnap or a restful night’s sleep. I’m always interested in both, so my odd-story-antennae perked up when I spotted an article about a man who lived to age ninety-six—and never slept. Born in the 1800’s, Albert Herpin shunned the circus exhibition circuit to hold a job and lead an uneventful and somewhat isolated life. It’s a remarkable story, but I need more facts to believe it because doctors never stated that Herpin didn’t sleep with his eyes open. Getting to the truth can be difficult. See if you believe this:

                                                https://youtu.be/bsL7u8qosTM

Humans are incredible creatures. Most of us function the same, but every so often we discover someone who can’t sleep, can’t wake up, or does astonishing things while hovering somewhere in between. What if everyone lived ordinary lives during the day and became superheroes, accomplished artists, or someone extraordinary at night? Maybe it’s possible to live an extraordinary life during the day. What’s the easiest way for you to become out-of-this-world awesome?         

Herpin story appeared in Courier Post & Weird NJ Magazine

Waiting for Cold Water

The waters at Hilton Head beach felt as warm as ocean temperatures should ever get. In fact, it’s difficult to imagine a more comfortable time in the water, but I wonder if the aquatic life felt the same way. Placed on a spectrum, ocean waters will feel cold, cool or warm, and looking at whatever skews toward the end of the spectrum is always interesting, like this:

                                     https://youtu.be/raMILbHdhZs

Although standing knee-deep in ultra-warm water with the sound of waves lapping the shore is enough to lull me into dreamland, it’s not an ideal sleeping situation. Some things feel good, but are bad for us while things that we don’t enjoy may be highly beneficial. It takes courage to admit that we’re in a negative space. When have you disliked where you were and what helped you move past it?