365 Inspirations—349: Hibernation

"It's thought that hibernation was once a shared characteristic among all mammals, and then we humans lost the ability to hibernate—but it still might be in our genes."—Steven Swoap

Lately the idea of hibernation sounds very appealing to me. Animals go off into dens and caves in the winter to sit out the cold and store body fat in unfavorable weather conditions and this makes sense.

I also feel I'm picking up on this hibernation vibe. I feel a sluggishness that won't leave me alone.

There are so many things to do, yet I do none of them.

I'm content to get under a big piles of blankets with a book and get lost in another story.

Maybe I'm tired of my own story.

Currently I'm reading a 19th century Russian novel called The Golovlovs by M. Saltykov-Shchedrin. I would have never chosen this book from a bookstore, but it showed up one day on my kitchen counter and I've been reading and reading and can't put it down.

A yoga student brought it along to read on our yoga retreat to Sedona and was going to just leave it at the hotel, but my husband decided to put it in his suitcase on the rare chance that we might read it.

At the time, the story did not appeal to me. After all, it's about a family who gets caught in a vicious cycle of greed, self pity, loss, sorrow and boredom. Who wants to read a book like that?

Yet, the book is beautifully written and the characters come to life on the page. It's very easy to get quickly swept up in the story and there is a reason for it.

It's about the human condition—about our upbringings and foibles and how hard it is to break out of engrained patterns, but how freeing it feels when one is finally able to do so.

Underneath all the heaviness of this book is deep-seated love and beauty.

And I'm allowing myself to just be with this book and my own condition, which is slow-moving and sloth-like.

I read a little, then I fall asleep, I read a little more, than I fall asleep again. Sometimes I bring snacks into my hibernation den. I bring tea and mandarin oranges. Sometimes I even bring chocolates...

My vacation from the college has begun. Maybe that's part of it.

I seem to be able to muster up the energy to go out and meet friends, but when I'm home, it's back to my den.

And I'm loving it....for now.

Do you ever feel like you go into hibernation in the winter?

365 Inspirations—341: Beach Walking and a Long Winter's Nap

"Think what a better world it would be if we all, the whole world, had cookies and milk about three o'clock every afternoon and then lay down on our blankets for a nap."—Barbara Jordan

Today we went beach walking at Discovery Park. It was bitter cold outside. Who, in their right mind, would go to the beach on a day like today?

Nevertheless, we bundled up and headed out.

Suddenly, while staring down over a cliff at the murky greens and blues of Puget Sound, I recalled my dream from the previous night. I saw that exact water in my dream. The same color, the same everything. The only difference was that the water was warm and people were swimming in it.

My husband is usually pretty quiet on our walks, but suddenly memories of beach walking in Korea along the East Sea started flooding back to him.

He began to recount these stories to me. He talked about how he loved walking alone or with friends along the beach in the winter and how they'd always stop by a tea house after and drink tea. They'd talk about their dreams and ideas and sometimes stay until the shop was about to close. Usually they weren't ready to go home, so the shop keeper, out of kindness, would make them all steamy bowls of ramen before they left.

I listened with intent, happy to hear my lovely husband, who is normally quiet and contemplative, become chatty and full of enthusiasm while retelling these stories.

We stopped by our favorite fish stand on the way home and got a salmon taco, right down by the fishing boats that make their way to Alaska in the summer and fall.

When we got home, I was so exhausted. There was no real reason why I felt like this. I hadn't exerted more than the usual energy on our walk, but I wanted nothing more than to sink down in my bed under the thick pile of blankets with a good book, a cookie and a glass of milk. And that I did.

I am not a 'nap' person. I rarely, if ever, take naps, but today I slept for a very loooonnngg time in the middle of the afternoon.

A friend, who went with us to Sedona on one of our yoga retreats, left a book with us. It's not what I usually read. It's an old Russian novel called The Golovlovs by M. Saltykov-Shchedrin. It was rated "among the very best novels in the world" by Arnold Bennett. The Golovlovs is one of the last translated, but highest-ranking, realistic novels of nineteeth-century Russia. Somehow I got swept up into the characters of the novel.

Under the warmth of my blankets I'd read a dozen pages or so and then doze off for an hour, read more pages and then doze off for another 30 minutes. I swear that when I dozed off I was dreaming of the characters in this book. They played out on the movie screen in my dreams.

There's something that seems very natural about napping in the winter, especially when it's freezing out. There are icicles outside, but you are inside, warm and toasty with a good book. When I awoke the first time, the sun was starting to set, casting an orange glow on my backyard. The second time I awoke, it was pitch dark outside and I drew the shades and continued reading more.

Not sure how I will sleep tonight given that I napped all day. But I'm ready to go back to my cozy bedroom and continue on with the book and see how far I get before I fall asleep.

Do you enjoy taking naps?

365 Inspirations—191: Summer Weather

"Rest is not idleness, and to lie sometimes on the grass under trees on a summer's day, listening to the murmur of the water, or watching the clouds float across the sky, is by no means a waste of time."—John Lubbock 

 Summer is the best season in Washington State. It's not too hot and it's not too cold. For the last couple of weeks we've had very little rain and it's been between 70-80 degrees everyday. For Seattlelites, seeing that shiny, yellow thing in the sky for days on end is really a treat that we may now be taking for granted.

Washington State tends to have a lot of rain in other months, so we really need to make good use of our summers. Our state has beautiful mountains and hiking trails everywhere. We've got the Olympic Mountains on one side and the Cascade Mountains on the other. On a beautiful day, the view is spectacular.

I try and get a walk in or sit out in the sun a little bit everyday! Gardening is another great pastime in the summer.

Today I went to yoga class again. I'm trying to get in the habit of going regularly. But today, after I type this post, I'm going to get ready or class and sit in my garden and do some lesson planning. I teach ESL on Mondays and Wednesdays in the summer, so today is my Friday! I chose to only teach two days a week in the evenings in the summer because I want to enjoy the days and the weather outside!

How's the summer in your part of the world? Is it the best season where you live?