Letting the Landscape Rest

I took a nap this morning.  Not the lazy, luxurious kind induced by a sunny warm spot on the sofa, not the cradled hammock kind listening to the whispers and lullabies of a summer breeze, nor the improvised reaction to the hypnotic suggestion of a rainy day.  It was a "drop the kids off at school, ignore the kitchen, go straight upstairs to my bedroom and fall back into bed with my clothes on".  Life is crazy - yes?  We juggle more balls than a Hungarian Circus and sometimes we just need a break.  As I buried myself beneath layers of cotton, feathers and down, I recognized the obvious similarity to the winter landscape around me.  Yes, my comforter, sheets and pillows are all white - but more than that, as I snuggled deeper and curled tighter, I was able to imagine just how the plants feel when Mother Nature gently tucks the earth under that dreamy blanket of snow.  More than soil amendments of nitrogen, phosphorus or potassium, more than a crop rotation and more than tilling, raking or sifting - sometimes the landscape just needs to rest.  So too, I needed that rest this morning - no amount of coffee, tea or diet pepsi was convincing me otherwise.

Naps give us the time to filter information slowly - again, much like melting slow slowly carries nutrients down through the soil web - our minds and bodies use rest time to synthesize more of the day to day experiences and process our observations.  How many problems have found their solution once we take a break from trying to solve it?  How many amazing new ideas have sprung forth from a good night's sleep and how many ills have been cured with a heavy dose of bed rest?

This winter, take more than a moment to pause and relax.  Appreciate the example our gardens give and know that even while the birds fly south for the winter, many a frozen stream still has many secrets bubbling below the icy surface.  Grab a good book, cozy into your favorite chair and be grateful you don't need to mow the lawn today; because even the landscape needs to rest.