What Is A Nap?

As we edge further and further into the Fall, one of my favorite things to do on a breezy Sunday afternoon is to curl up under a light blanket and take a little nap.  There's nothing quite like sitting in the sunshine, warmed in the sun's rays.

Just like a cat, to drift off into a nothingness, even for just a little while.  Or it's the perfect chance to do something we loved to do when we were children ... nap time in kindergarten.

So I got to thinking about what napping really is.  Is it the length of time and a lack of depth?  Light and dreamless?  No alarm clocks?  Perhaps the tv on a quiet noise level ... something to keep us from going into the arms of a true slumber?


I've seen people nap on the deck of a ship.  A book or magazine in their hands, suspended for the reader and then it slowly creeps lower, towards their laps as their eyelids get heavy.  Next thing you see, chins settled on chests.  Or how about sitting quietly on a train, hearing the wheels go clickety clack on the track, the same rhythm over and over again as the mind quiets and your eyelids get heavy.  Then there is the short nap during commercial breaks on tv, except these days, with DVR and TEVO, there is no need for that kind of nap.  Scratch that.  Or how about the refreshing nap before dinner?  You come home from a busy day and just want 10-15 minutes to relax away the stresses of the office.  Shoes off, feet up, tilted back, the warm smells drifting in from the kitchen.


One of my favorite places to nap is in a hammock. This summer when I was up in Mammoth Lakes, my Uncle strung the hammock up for me and I would head over with my blanket and pillow along with a book, which was only there for appearances because I was intending on taking a nap.  Lulled by the cool breezes coming off the mountains, suspended and gently rocking, curled up under the blanket, off I went.  Was out asleep?  No, as I heard the casual conversations of people wandering by.


One couple even commented on how comfy I looked, the perfect way to spend some time on a lazy mountain afternoon.  They had hammock nap envy, I could hear it in the husbands voice.  I smiled in my nap haze and listened as they wandered further away.  So I've come to the conclusion that .... taking a nap helps to take the edge off, relax us, indulges the inner child, I mean who am I to say you can't have your cookies and milk when you wake up?

NAP:  Dosing lightly in order to Never Appear Peeved.

Comments

  1. Linda SechristOctober 18, 2011 at 3:56 PM

    When it comes to the art of napping, you're an Olympian. Although I've always been amazed that you could nap almost anywhere, I think I was never as astonished as I was to see you napping on the bus trip back from the ruins of Ephesus in Turkey. That's when I tried waking you up to point out the stork's nest on the rooftop of a house we passed. The bus definitely wasn't a Greyhound with comfortable seats and neck rests, but you could snooze anyway.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Where Yvette GoesOctober 18, 2011 at 5:26 PM

    Do you have any idea how many times I'd been on that same bus to and from Ephesus? Holy cow, in the two years I worked on the Stella Solaris, there were plenty. I think I could have even been the tour guide, like that time I had to take over in Akrotiri on the island of Santorini.

    :)

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Please feel free to ask questions or share your experience(s).

Popular posts from this blog

Making the Days Count versus Counting the Days.

Image
Recently I imported over 2000 photos from my phone to my laptop.  As I sat and watch my flash across the screen, I sat back and realized how many wonderful memories were captured.  Ladies, men always seem to wonder what we do to fill our days and nights and this is what inspired todays blog.  Enjoy.  May you find some inspiration, as I know some of you will find your faces here too, and I would love to hear what YOU do to make your days count. We find simplicity. We keep our heads above the clouds. We love our furry friends. We camp at 10,000'. We get and give hugs. We get silly. We install ceiling tiles. We express ourselves. We get pedicures. We tantalize our tastebuds. We admire the view. We drink Champagne simply because we want to. We find the magic. We wait for the sunset. We laugh with our family. We look for love. We eat dessert first, because life is too short. We celebrate with good friends. We love
Read more

Walk Down Memory Lane

Image
This afternoon was I was going through my recipe box and came across a list of questions that the passengers used to ask me.  David Letterman has his top 10 list that he gives every night, and I had my top 9 list that I used to give every week with my disembarkation talk.  For those of you who have never been on a cruise ship before, a disembarkation talk is a presentation given by the Cruise Director to help the passengers, now called guests, to transition from ship to shore on the last day of the cruise.  It was also presented in order to drive our ratings ... reminding guests that while we couldn't control the motion of the ocean or the weather in port, what we did have control over was the quality of their cruise vacation. I used 9 questions because our ratings went as high as a 9 - we figured there was no such thing as a 10 in the world.  Apparently the person who decided that hadn't spent any time staring at George Clooney on the big screen or saw Daniel Craig exit the
Read more

Cinderella, Snow White & The Guru in the Forest

Image
When I went to the forest to study, I could not help but feel like I was Gretel ... Hansel and Gretel following the breadcrumbs ... here I took a fairy tale tarot deck and interpreted the meaning of the cards through the eye glasses of a yogic practice. Cinderella, Snow White & The Guru in the Forest From the Fairy Tale Tarot The human soul that has liberated itself from the past and freed itself from earthly attachments must continue on its stellar odyssey.    Once we have put our toe into the vast ocean of Consciousness, there is no going back.  When coming to the well that contains the Guru's teachings, it is our return to our own soul. On a higher level, Cinderella attends the Magical Ball which symbolizes a child's wonder of growing up and becoming part of the large society and meets her dream prince.   The Magical Ball represents the Ashram and we must all go on our pilgrimage with the heart of a child as it is only in that place of openness where w
Read more