On Friday afternoon, I was at home after a long morning and afternoon of appointments and running errands. I laid down to take a nap and felt like I was going to conk out in no time. Except, I didn’t. I guess my back was hurting too much and I laid there with my eyes closed for about an hour. I may have dozed off. But I didn’t take a full nap.
But I got some rest.
In America, we seem to view any type rest and relaxation as some type of reward you have to walk over flaming hot coals while juggling razor sharp knives and giving an oral dissertation on molecular biology to achieve. Otherwise, you’re being called a four letter word – lazy. A lot of people work jobs where they don’t get 15 minute breaks and only 30-minute lunch breaks. This means, they actually only get 14-minute breaks and 29-minute lunch breaks because the bean counters don’t want them going one second over on each. Yet, they’re probably not getting the three minutes of overtime for pulling that extra work. But most are working under eight hours a day to avoid overtime. Only it would probably be about five measly cents of overtime a day for a few seconds, of which you’d only get two if you were lucky in your take home.
Four years ago at this time, The Ides of March had a different meaning as America (and the world) had taken a step back as Covid-19 pandemic was spreading and we couldn’t deny it anymore. It was a huge issue. People were going to have to take better care of themselves and others. The mentality of telling workers, “I can sleep when I’m dead” wasn’t the mentality anymore, because many of them would ended up just like that because we weren’t careful.
And while it’s probably not Covid, the seasonal changes with the warmest winter on record has made a lot of people sick. Last week, I was down for a couple of days. I think I must have slept for 10-11 hours. A few of my friends on opposite ends of the country are also sick this week. It’s funny how when we don’t feel good, they tell us to rest. But after a long day or even a not long day, we shouldn’t stop to rest if our bodies (and minds) need some R&R because that means we’re lazy. In other countries, people take siestas which is a nap in the afternoon. In the United Kingdom, they have tea time.
Winston Churchill used to take naps every day, even during the middle of World War II. Brian De Palma, one of the most revered filmmakers alive today, takes naps while filming. According to the book The Devil’s Candy, which detailed the production of The Bonfire of the Vanities, everyone on set knew good and well not to disturb De Palma during a break if he was napping. And he was handling a major Hollywood studio movie. When we’re young, kids sleep a lot.
But I was never won to like to take naps at pre-school and kindergarten. Maybe it’s because I don’t like sleeping on a floor. (However, this would become my bedding at several parties in college when I wasn’t in the right mood to drive.) I realize now, it wasn’t about letting young people nap, it was more about giving the adults a little time. And they need it. I’m so sick of Hollywood using men (most of the time obese/overweight or not model figures) taking a nap as a sign of domestic abuse or being negligent. Maybe he’s working two jobs and he’s sleeping a little in his Barcalounger in between jobs.
Two years ago, Ben Affleck became an Internet meme when he was spotting napping on a yacht during the middle of his Parisian honeymoon to Jennifer Lopez. So? I’m sure just about every man over the age of 25 from Boston takes a nap like that. It’s part of the culture. Why should we care if Affleck is too tired and needs a cat nap? We don’t know his schedule. I know when I used to take vacations from my jobs, the best part is sleeping. The first night of your vacation is usually some of the best sleep you’ll get all year.
Vacations, honeymoons, and traveling can be exhausting. We shouldn’t even have to follow itineraries when we’re just suppose to enjoy ourselves. They say the people of Key West don’t have clocks because they don’t want to live restricted to time. And they reportedly gather each evening to watch the sunsets. I can tell you they’re probably a whole lot happier.
Statistics show that heart attacks and strokes increase the week following Daylight Saving Time where we move the clocks ahead. Our bodies have been conditioned to a routine and we’ve upset it. So, taking a nap or just sitting down to play Candy Crush on your phone isn’t being lazy. You’re being healthy. I’m so glad people take mental health days (when they can afford to). I don’t think people should be criticized for taking good care of themselves.
I don’t mean to criticize all the self-proclaimed “hardworkers” out there, but working from dawn until dusk isn’t the flex you think it is. And just because you can do it doesn’t mean the other 8 billion people on this planet should keep up or try to do it better. I’ve lived in a lot of rural areas where there have been farms and ranches. This is the life the people who live and work on them has chosen. It doesn’t make them any better even just for doing so. We all need to eat but they’ve chosen a career path, just as doctors, teachers, lawyers, journalists and mechanics have chosen. We all serve a purpose in life. Just because it’s a more important purpose doesn’t mean it should be put on a pedestal.
I know people who enjoy spending their “days off” working around the house. But it’s not something others should do. There’s no reason to have a lawn that you’re going to have to continue to mow and keep for most of the year. We should have land that requires more of those nasty weeds and flowers for bees and other insects necessary to our ecosystem to thrive. But as long as some people view lawnmowers as toys and extensions of their genitalia, we’re still having to fight the good fight.
I also don’t think you should be proud that you force your kids to live this life. I covered too many FFA and 4-H groups and the one questions I’ve always wanted to ask as a reporter but knew would be inappropriate is “Do you even want to do this?” I’m almost certain if I ever did, I would get a lot of comments from youth who wanted to hang out with their friends and not smell like cow manure. Instead of pick-up trucks, they want a nice sedan car. And what’s wrong with sleeping in on a weekend?
We’re too busy criticizing other people for living the ways we don’t think they should we don’t stop and see why we choose the paths we take. Some people just have to have some form of superiority and control over others, no matter what it is.
What do you think? Please comment.
Zane Says 