Vegetate

Sometimes, I get home and simply vegetate. I don't watch TV, I don't get on the computer. No reading, no writing. I simply pause. What's wrong with this picture?

Nothing! After day after day of tasks and busywork, taking an hour to stop everything is OK. Is this considered laziness? Absolutely not. Laziness conjures images of

procrastination and avoidance. For us TYPE A personality folks, vegetating for a brief time period is actually recommended. This creates mental space in your brain, physical healing in your body, and a "re-balancing" effect on your perspective.

When you vegetate, try not to start creating lists- the point of pausing is to STOP thinking about tasks left undone. The point is to find this empty space (it's somewhere deep down in there). What might you find? A moment of peace? Hmm....

The perfect example: my dog Indiana Jones. He's "full steam ahead" during the day- running after squirrels, trying to climb trees, swimming in the baby pool, and generally doing his "doggy" stuff. He's a busy boy- something is always happening. But every now and again something strange happens: He goes on "Screen Saver Mode." His neck literally drops while he's standing- his eyes focused on something far away. He could stay like this for up to 5 minutes. He is pausing. Resting his neck. (this has nothing to do with him being a bird dog- although he does "point").

Some of you may have no trouble with taking 10 minutes to look into the deep space galaxy of the ceiling. Some of you may have no quarrels with veggin' out on the sofa in your living room (dubbed "The Barge"). This message is for those of us who do:

Allow yourself.

Even the Energizer Bunny takes a breather..