tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30312228.post38310163897822048..comments2023-11-03T06:26:00.486-07:00Comments on Ms. Kitty's Saloon and Road Show: Winter Eliot: a reviewUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30312228.post-24585130584589082852007-01-03T08:35:00.000-08:002007-01-03T08:35:00.000-08:00Thanks, all, for your thoughts. I have benefited ...Thanks, all, for your thoughts. I have benefited from your experiences. I didn't feel guilty about taking the time to withdraw, but I was wondering about my need to do so, in such an uncharacteristic way. I have gotten insight from all of you. <br /><br />And I understand better why, in the past, I used to go to the nearby mall and just walk through the stores, when I didn't need anything or buy anything, when, in fact, I felt faintly contemptuous of everything I saw! It may have been my need to dissociate from the stress (or boredom) of my daily routine.<br /><br />I don't have that option on the island. I can go for a walk on the beach and often do, but there's no nearby mall-------and I'm glad about that. Interesting to think about it all.<br /><br />Thanks.Lilylouhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02328027965155428624noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30312228.post-18390096939531786032007-01-03T08:23:00.000-08:002007-01-03T08:23:00.000-08:00I am glad that you got to have a time in which you...I am glad that you got to have a time in which you were relatively <br />disconnected from your strains of the late fall. That is part of the "third place" concept, I think, some place that is not home or work, each with their obligations. Sometimes I have had travel on a train or airplane play that role. Sometimes it is just exploring some theme in my library for a few hours, since for me the focus on intellectual exploration can provide much the same sort of separation. An insightful Israeli friend used to accuse me of using scholarship as an escape from an unsatisfactory married life, probably with some accuracy. Now, near where I live, there is a largish coffee-shop plus second hand bookstore which provides that sort of disconnection for short periods. It is a blessing which makes a small provincial town much more tolerable. In your case, it sounded as if you needed a longer break, so that is fortuitous good timing. But once the need is recognized, of course, you can make your own timing.<br /> The PNW maritime landscape sounds impressive. <br /> LinguistFriendLinguistFriendhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02695715246663202212noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30312228.post-3599542422452356342007-01-03T06:07:00.000-08:002007-01-03T06:07:00.000-08:00I am an old Eliot attendee who hasn't been for man...I am an old Eliot attendee who hasn't been for many years, but spent much of my son's youth going to the various camps. I love Eliot and intend to get back one of these days...<br /><br />Your experience of spending time to yourself and resting put me in mind of the weeklong silent Vipassana meditation retreats I've done. In these retreats one of the things we are taught is to watch the five hindrances at play in the mind. One of these is called "sloth and torpor" which is dozing off and being in a mental haze. However,if we are physically exhausted it isn't "sloth and torpor" it's a legitimate need. We are a sleep deprived society, research shows that even with a slight reduction in sleep hours our attention level is impaired. So we were also taught that often the first two or even three days of a meditation retreat are fruitfully spent catching up on the sleep that has been forgone in daily life. Looks like your experience might not have been imminent introversion but rather a much needed recovery of what was lost. Welcome home!Sarahhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09240446987301139686noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30312228.post-9644312248046385662007-01-03T04:14:00.000-08:002007-01-03T04:14:00.000-08:00I get what you're saying about thr stress-induced ...I get what you're saying about thr stress-induced introversion thing. I get like that, too. <br /><br />CCChalicechickhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07781469958573869914noreply@blogger.com