Resting While Awake

Yesterday afternoon, after buzzing around town, I came back to the house and sat on the modified Lazy-boy in the room of our home that serves as both sala and my office. I leaned back, propped my feet up, relaxed my arms, and breathed deeply. I felt like I had just started breathing again after an intense period of being so caught up in life, I had almost forgotten to breathe.

My eyes rested on the red-and-blue picture hanging on the wall next to my desk. It's of two Latino women, very lush and sensuous-looking, dressed in blue dressing-gowns. Their fingernails and toenails are painted red. They're sitting on a plush red sofa, drinking tea. A silver tray of tea cups and a kettle fills the space before them. White lilies and a black cat add to the scene. It's all very resplendent-looking.

I sat looking at the colors and shapes, my body still, my mind quiet. No thoughts that I can remember. Just to gaze softly at certain pictures can be deeply soothing and calming for me.

I love rest. I enjoy sleep too, but I'm not talking about sleep here because I'm rarely aware of it when I'm doing it (I know there are some who lucidly dream, but I don't). Nor do I mean formal sitting meditation, though I think of softly gazing at a picture, or watching light and shadows, as a kind of meditation. Rest is something I I haven't always appreciated. I enjoy it more and more.