The palm leaves bounce slowly and I chew warm rice. Scooters fly by too fiercely fast for my liking. Today, another day in this version of paradise, is a sleepy day, a day when I lift my hands in the air to surrender. I glance at the little to-do list of tasks that require me to open the laptop and I place my Kindle in my purse. Never mind the tasks for now. Today is a sleepy day, a day for reading instead of much writing. Today invites me to swim in the pool twice or maybe three times. Perhaps I’ll even take a nap.
I’m not a lazy woman so sleepy days are rare and sometimes scary for me. What do I do with this strange feeling of resistance? What’s wrong with me? Normally, I love to throw myself into work so a sleepy day that says slow down darling, is hard to trust. I remind myself I’m recovering from the trying trip to Raja Ampat, from COVID, from three decades of life, one and one decade of non-stop pushing to grow business. I’ve endured a lot of heartbreak and said yes to many challenges. I’ve been growing rapidly this past year through travel, therapy, acquiring new skills and delighting in creation. To grow ourselves, to expand further, to move beyond the known universe, this takes massive amount of energy.
There is no rush now. I can sit beside the tree and sway in the warm breeze. I can chew rice slower until it melts in my mouth. I can read a book about a faraway land or just stare at the land beneath my feet. A day of rest is always welcome in my life. Currently, my resting moments are being met by vampires. Stephanie Myers has my ear…or should I say my eyes? I’m reading the Twilight Saga for the first time and I’m raising my hand to admit this is my new guilty pleasure. And yes, it’s influencing my own writing. I’m continuing to write my own fantasy novel everyday, quite deep into the project now. I’m swimming through thousands and thousands of words and no vampires have appeared…yet. The romance scenes have more tension now and I can hear Edward the vampire’s voice in my head as I’m typing. I can’t help it. Influenced and inspired by what I’m consuming, I’m at peace with how the books I read are flavoring the book I’m writing. We all flow into each other.
The sky is awake with blue.
The plastic strips float above the rice paddies to scare the birds away.
My ears are sensitive so
I’ll wear noise canceling headphones
to block out the road sounds.
I’ll smile at the whooshing scooters.
Besides, this morning enjoyed a photo walk through the rice paddies at sunrise. I laughed with the village children riding their bikes; they wanted to be photographed. On the balcony I enjoyed another workout and yoga practice in the blinding tropical sun. I prefer to exercise in the shade and I won’t be picky right now. I swam in turquoise water and read a book beneath the frangipani tree. I ate eggs and fruit for breakfast. I offered a yoga flow on YouTube. I taught a full length naked yoga class for my studio members who needed help slowing down their restless minds. I practiced guitar. Yes, this is enough today.
Love & Rainbows, Cha Wilde