Eat, Pray, Love and Relax

I start a lot of blogs, but then think that I should work on them more, so I don't publish them immediately. Because I like to start things a whole lot more than I like to finish them, I have many, many beginnings of blogs. After such an outpouring of interest during the two months when I didn't blog, I figured people would rather read random ramblings then nothing at all (while I wait to be inspired with a succinct ending or perfect editing). I should just publish my thoughts as they are. The above reasons are why you might read something that doesn't fit with the current time in my life (such as how I wrote below that we just returned from Croatia).

Written on September 24, 2006
I am reading Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert right now and am really enjoying it. Basically, after a few rough years in the States, the author takes a year off and travels through Italy, India and Indonesia to learn about herself. I am currently reading where she is in Italy. She just brought up a great point :

Generally speaking, Americans have an inability to relax into sheer pleasure. Ours is an entertainment-seeking nation, but not necessarily a pleasure-seeking one. Americans spend billions to keep themselves amused with everything from porn to theme parks to wars, but that's not exactly the smae things as quiet enjoyment.

This same type of thought crossed my mind while we were in Croatia last week. Although Kyle and I did sit by the pool and read for an hour or two each day, we just couldn't all out relax. We sat and had drinks at the bar overlooking the ocean for awhile, but then got antsy and wanted to walk around. Just sitting for 8 hours a day can be a lot more challenging than you would think! We both commented that our favorite parts of the vacation were when we took a kayak trip for a half day and then later when we rented a car and drove through Bosnia and Montenegro for five hours. Throughout our vacation, it bothered me so much that I couldn't just sit.

We stayed on a quite sparsly populated island for the first four days of our trip. Being on the island got me thinking about "old fashioned" types of entertainment versus modern day entertainment. When the sun had set and all you could hear were the waves crashing, I could see why people used to tell stories, sing songs and dance to pass the time. What better ways of entertaining yourself, while interacting with your friends and neighbors, rather than sitting in front of a TV or computer to be entertained. I know you can't very well find a sing-along or square dance around the corner from you nowadays, but I do think that is a shame that those things rarely exist anymore.