It’s Not Easy To Take It Easy

Fruit Bat at Animal Kingdom
Sleeping Fruit Bat at Animal Kingdom

All the fruit bats at Animal Kingdom were just hanging in the trees.  Oh how I envied them.  As much as I was enjoying seeing all the animals, from the blind mole rats to the Gorillas, it was the bats that reminded me what a big part of vacations are about.

We’ve been running since we got here yesterday morning.  And it’s been great, we got up at 5:30 to catch the early safari at Animal Kingdom.  I danced with the African drummers and both Jon and I  danced to the Indian Bollywood music.  We told each other we’d only spend  a few hours at Animal Kingdom than sit by the pool and go out to dinner later in the evening.  But one thing led to another and by the time we got back to the hotel it was 3pm.  That gave us two hours of relaxing before catching the bus to Downtown Disney for dinner.   And in that two hours my mind started to go to a dark place.

We keep saying we’re going to take some time and sleep late and just sit by the pool, but I have a fear it may never happen.  I think it’s something we have to really work to do.  It’s too easy to get up and run from park to park.  It’s not so easy to take it easy.  I think part of it is that when I stop, especially after doing a lot of running around, my mind keeps going.  And if it has nothing to keep it busy, if it’s not being stimulated by castles and crowds and gorillas and tigers, then it goes off on its own tangents.   I remember one of my yoga teachers calling it Monkey Mind. That about says it, only my Monkey Mind tends to lean towards the dark side of things.

But I’m determined not to let my Monkey Mind keep me from relaxing.  So tomorrow Jon and I have plans to relax.  Both of us are constantly trying to sabotage this plan by coming up with things to do. I mean, who wants to hang around with a Monkey Mind when you can be on the Peter Pan Ride or even the  Haunted House.   But it’s not going to happen if I can help it.  Besides going to Epcot for dinner, the day is going to be spent, reading and lying around, napping, and eating.  And I’ll be ready when those dark and guilt ridden stories try to interrupt my day.  I brought a book of Mary Oliver poems just for that reason.  (Her poetry usually grounds me).  And I’ll think of those fruit bats too.  Wrapping their wings around them and tucking their noses under them, like a vampire warding off the daylight.  Only I’ll be welcoming the sunshine and warm blue skies, my mind and body at ease and rest.  At least for a day.

8 thoughts on “It’s Not Easy To Take It Easy

  1. Hmmmm, I think you’ve described my mind entirely, Maria…
    A close friend is going to Barbados again this winter, two months instead of one. Would I come, she asked. I looked at her in a panic and said “what would I do?” The thought of just sitting, having to talk to other people making small talk or chitchat appalled me. I couldn’t take my dogs or my studio work with me…no, I said, I’m happy here at home. And I am. But, and it’s a big but, I can’t just sit and do nothing. I am you, you are me, I am Jon, he is me…whoa is me….
    Sandy P in wintry, Ontario, Canada

  2. Maria, tempting as the offer was and is, for Barbadoes, I am happy where I am. I’m in my mid-seventies (well, that’s stretching it a bit), I love where I live in the country near a small town, I love working in my studio, I love my dogs, I have a husband who is either up in the air or hibernating on a couch all winter. I’m heading into cataract operations one of these years, my hands still hold a needle and thread without shaking, most days, I live in a more limited time frame as I get older. If traveling is what made me happy, I’d do it. I have an airline pass. Most times it doesn’t work as stand-by but sometimes it does. I honestly couldn’t spend a week having to talk to someone else as their guest but I could spend a week by myself down south and enjoy it…I’m lucky to have found a soul-satisfying place in which to live, in the country. For now. Nothing is ever forever. I’m enjoying Jon’s observations and yours of your trip…it’s like taking a trip myself to Disneyworld. I’ve been to Epcot Centre many years ago. I don’t like crowds. But it’s a fun place for a short period of time, so, thank you for my trip to Disneyworld this winter.
    SandyP in Ontario, Canada

  3. Maria, contentment is an ever-fleeting thing. What we have one day, we may not have another. After a busy life, I’m happy to have a non-busy life, or one that is busy on the spot…the B&B keeps me going from Spring to fall and winter is mine to do as I like. I love the name “monkey mind”, it describes the creative mind, I think, which can sometimes be a curse as much as it is exhilarating. I was at the hairdressers this morning having my hair cut and somehow mentioned that every report card I received in public school said “Sandra must learn to concentrate”. The chap who has been cutting my hair for years said: ‘that’s funny, that’s exactly what my report cards used to say”. In my mind, I can transport myself into another space…I guess I live in my head much of the time. To each his own. Life has its ups and downs and mine has as much as the next fellows. Do we ever really know our own minds….but Monkey Mind…yes, a great way to describe a butterfly mind.
    SandyP

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