Sloth

Posted by Marci on Dec 2, 2010 in | 0 comments

I opened my eyes to the light coming from the window in my tiny studio in Florence. I rolled over and looked at the clock – eleven in the morning. I’d been asleep for twelve hours. I stretched my body and hit my hand against the book I’d read before falling asleep. I picked up its soft pages and delved into the story. It was my fifth day in Italy and my sleep deprived body was finally getting its due rest.

Hours later I rose in need of food. I strolled along the cobblestone streets with coffee and biscotti. I found my way to the steps of San La Croce and sat, my notebook in hand as I watched the street performers and the crowds move through the Piazza. I was deliriously relaxed and content. I had zero planned for the day and I relished the brain downtime.

In the late afternoon, I sat in the rose garden near Michelangelo’s Piazza reading and writing, as I smelled the sweet air. I closed my eyes, letting a siesta nap float over my daydreams. When I woke, I walked to the top of the hill for a gelato and ate it while watching the sun set over the Tuscan hills. Then I strolled through the streets of Florence taking in the night air.

It was a glorious month of sleeping deeply, waking when I was fully rested, and only doing what my body felt like doing. I didn’t work out, push, or stress. I simply let life come as it wanted.

Sloth is considered one of the deadly sins. To be slothful is to be lazy and unproductive. I’m a type A personality who moves through life at a speed that exhausts most. I race from one event to the next, never giving my brain time to catch up. I find myself stressed at regular intervals as I push to accomplish my dreams.

To be slothful is one of my greatest challenges, but I’ve found it is a necessary tool. It’s important to move, exercise, and get the most out of life, but when I rest in between and give myself downtime I can more fully enjoy this life I’ve created. Being slothful gives me the recharge I need to restore my muscles, my health, and my mind.

On this journey of going after my dreams, I’m finding that who I once was no longer fits with who I’m becoming. Taking time to be a sloth is one dream I’m trying to integrate into my way of living. It’s not easy to give up my idea that the only way to enjoy life is to be moving, but I’m trying.