EMBRACING SIMPLICITY and LEISURE

For much of my adult life I’ve struggled with my restless spirit, the need to see myself as being productive and useful and not a “time-waster.”  Many times it was hard for me to relax and just “be”, even if I was on vacation. At the end of a day I often reflected on what I’d accomplished, as if I could define that in “concrete” terms.  Thankfully things have now shifted a bit.  I spend a lot of time with my grandchildren (eight and ten), and although we experience plenty of challenging moments, it feels like I’ve turned a corner.  I laugh easier, nurture myself more, and just enjoy life moment by moment, knowing how fleeting time is.  Nearing 64, I don’t know what lies ahead, but the word leisure is slowly becoming an important part of my vocabulary.

Here’s to the good, relaxing, simple “down times” I’ve observed and learned from others, as well as experienced on my own.

A WALK ALONG THE OCEAN SHORE IN RHODE ISLAND

“An early-morning walk is a blessing for the whole day.”

(Henry David Thoreau)

"Give your stress wings and let it fly away.”

(Terri Guillemets)

 “The mark of a successful man (or woman) is one that has spent an entire day on the bank of a river without feeling guilty about it.”

(Anonymous)

MY MOM AND DAD WITH FRIEND GEORGIA

“They talk of the dignity of work.  The dignity is in leisure.”

(Herman Melville)

MY AUNT ELLEN WITH HER FRIENDS

“There is more to life than increasing its speed.”

(Mahatma Gandhi)

“So you see, imagination needs noodling—long, inefficient, happy idling, dawdling, and puttering.”

(Brenda Ueland, writer)

MY MOTHER MILLIE WITH HER CAMPING FRIENDS GEORGIA AND WILBUR  

CABIN NEIGHBOR ALBERT WITH OUR SON ALEX

MY AUNT ELLEN WITH PALS

“In our leisure we reveal what kind of people we are.”  

(Ovid)

“How beautiful it is to do nothing, and then to rest afterward.”  

(Spanish proverb)

“For fast-acting relief, try slowing down.”  

(Lily Tomlin)