To Do, or Not to Do ...

*Yawn* *Stretch* *Purr*

No, you have not just been introduced to my cat ... don't have one of those, by the way. My dogs would eat any cat that dared enter this house, and that would be cruel, unusual, and unwarranted punishment! However, I've noticed that when the weather gets cold, even though there are moments of energy & focus, it mainly makes me want to curl up with a warm blanket, possibly a fire, and snuggle with a good book/movie/show/person/etc (which should explain the feline allusion). Why is that?

I'm normally a pretty energetic person. In fact, I tend to have difficulty sitting still much of the time (ask anyone who knows me). I like the feeling that occurs when I've accomplished things that need to be done or that I just want to do - vacuum the house, paint a room, laundry (yuck) - so why is it that I have to mentally and physically force me to extract myself from whatever cozy spot I'm in to go do what needs to be done?

Is it possible that, even though our species has evolved well beyond our primate ancestors, we still have a touch of hibernation instinct that zooms to the forefront of our consciousness when wintery temperatures descend upon us? Makes mild sense ... even though I don't think that my boss or those to whom I owe monthly bill payments would appreciate my going into hibernation for a couple of months ... Still .....

Maybe the birds have it right. It's always a great boost to travel to somewhere warm when it's cold. Should the life lesson here be to "think like a bird"? Hmmm ... constantly live where it's warm, never worry about how loudly you're conversing with your neighbors, your home is always on the penthouse level of where it's built, and if you ever choose to hide your head under your or someone else's arm your face gets buried in soft feathers. There could be lessons to be learned here .....

~ The Girl In The Little Black Dress

Southern .... Charm?

Rain .. Ice .. Sleet .. Snow. All are ultimately, simply, various forms of water. Curiously, when any of the aforementioned fall from the sky, southern drivers tend to morph into 85 year old females with severe cataracts when behind the wheel. Why is this? If someone dumps a vat of water upon the road it doesn't change how one drives through the subsequent puddle, yet if that same water emanates from a cloud, the ability to think normally is lost. Furthermore, why, when the meteorologists call for any of the ice, sleet or snow forms of that same water, do those morphed 85 year old cataract-ridden drivers all converge upon the grocery store to stock up on bread, milk and eggs? I did mention the part about this being in the Southern portion of the United States .. correct? It's not like we have the climate to sustain a Minnesota blizzard. What makes it even more amusing (amusing to me anyways) is that a large portion of the population "down here" are transplants From The North. Shouldn't they be the ones with sense when it comes to the winter-style precipitation? Apparently, the portion of their upbringing that allows them to pooh-pooh an inch of accumulation leaves their consciousness when they've been here more than a year (or so it would seem). Anyway, happy weekend to all my fellow southerners .... and, as we're now under a winter weather advisory, steer clear of those bread aisles!

~ The Girl In The Little Black Dress

Please continue on to the next level ....

2011. So if we were sleeping or just not paying attention, then would it be possible to not realize the changeover to the new year date? Kind of like being so focused on a great book or engrossed in a fascinating project that you're unaware that a couple of hours have passed ... or if you were to waterski around the horn of Africa - would you truly know the point when you, the skier, were cutting through the Indian Ocean & the boat pulling you was zooming through the Atlantic?

I suppose the point of this musing is that so much of life seems to fly by in part because we're not truly paying attention. While I'm not a big believer in "new year's resolutions", making a concerted effort to truly notice our surroundings & what is currently happening around us on every level may be one of the most useful & positive things any of us can "resolve" to do. Think about it - how much more could we really accomplish and how many positive changes and pro-actions could we really make if we all resolved to be completely aware and live in the moment?

~ The Girl In The Little Black Dress