Deep summer is when laziness finds respectability.? ? Sam keen
That?s not what you?d expect from the super-achieving Winfrey ? or from anyone else who?s built a career out of interviewing A-list celebrities and unveiling The Next Big Thing. But her ambition to play small, at least for a little while, left a deep impression on me.
Like everyone else in Michigan, I look forward to summer all year long. According to my calendar, there are nine precious weeks left ? weeks that will fly off our calendars faster than a Sea-Doo on Lake Michigan.
Taking inventory of what I?ve accomplished since June, I realize, sadly, how little time I?ve spent puttering in the herb garden or chilling out with a ?beach read? in hand.? Real life keeps getting in the way. So, before summer packs up its beach bag and clears out for a new school term, I?m borrowing a page from Oprah and indulging in some low-tech, simple summer pleasures. Here?s the rest of the plan:
Summer vacation unplugged
?I?ll reread Ray Bradbury?s classic, Dandelion Wine, a semi-autobiographical novel chronicling the author?s magical summer of 1928. Unabashedly nostalgic, the novel is both a love letter to summer freedom and a sonnet to childhood innocence.?You can borrow a copy from your local library, then read parts aloud to your kids on the front porch swing if you?re lucky enough to have one.
? At least once a week, I?ll splurge on a cup of chocolate-peanut butter ice cream from the local Baskin Robbins. (Note to self: If I walk or ride my bike to the shop, the splurge will be easier to justify.)
? In lieu of pulling weeds, or fretting over slug damage, I?ll admire what?s blooming in the garden.
? I?ll make at least one more trip to northern Michigan, where I?ll hunt for Petoskey stones, skipping stones, beach glass, and perfect pieces of driftwood.
? As author Sam Keen wrote: ?Deep summer is when laziness finds respectability.? Which is another good excuse for brain candy. With or without the beach, I?ll crash in a deck chair with a beach-worthy novel and a stack of fashion magazines that have little or no redeeming social value.
? Movies are another wonderful way to escape reality, not to mention sweltering temperatures. To cool off last week, I laughed my way through ?The Heat? with Sandra Bullock and Melissa McCarthy. A few days later, I was first in line to see ?The Conjuring? ? exceptionally scary and free of gratuitous gore.
? I promise to ?unplug? from technology at least one day a week. That means no compulsive Web surfing; less e-mail checking. Instead, I?ll indulge in some local ?people-watching? at one of Royal Oak?s outdoor cafes.
The benefits of chilling out
Psychologists agree that even a day or two of unstructured loafing ultimately enhances our productivity long after we return to work.
?Some of the best thinking we do happens when the conscious mind is on a sabbatical,? Veronique Vienne notes in The Art of Doing Nothing (Clarkston Potter; $17). She reminds us that Thomas Edison discovered the light bulb filament ?while idly rolling kerosene residue between his fingers.?? Likewise, Einstein pondered the mysteries of the universe with a cat in his lap.
?So don?t get up from your lawn chair yet,? Vienne advises. ?Contribute to science. Stay prone as long as you can.?
Of course, it?s always fun to anticipate and celebrate the major milestones of our lives. But we need a reprieve from pithy graduation speeches about beginnings and endings.?And we need a break from wedding receptions, family reunions, baby showers and other ?special? summer events that require a gift or a new outfit or another dish to pass.?We need flip flops and ordinary time.
Come August, I want to say good-bye to summer knowing that I?ve squeezed every last drop of its sweetness and savored it all.
Top photo credit: Cindy La Ferle
Source: http://www.laferle.com/2013/07/savoring-summer/
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