Most Relaxing Place

The most relaxing place in the world, for me, is the hammock. The spa comes a poor second. 

What sets a hammock apart from a spa is people. There is nobody in the hammock but you and there you can allow life to really slow down.

An hour in a hammock frees mind and soul from the disappointments and frustrations of days past.

Maybe the neurons in our brain take us back to those nine months we swam in our mother's womb or to those days of infancy when our mom rocked us to sleep humming a lullaby.      

No wonder people have been making all sorts of hammocks—some elaborate, some simple, some in-between.

This one's ours: a simple rattan hammock handmade in my province, Pangasinan.

It's a recent purchase. The family was driving home from out of town when Tony spotted a caravan of vendors on cart-bearing oxen. He got off and bought this quickly. He'd always wanted one but he neither had the time nor knew where to find them.

I had in mind the exact place for our new hammock—between two coconut trees in our garden. I was beginning to imagine me in the great outdoors enjoying the song of birds, the smell of grass, and the breeze of the hour swaying me gently.

Hammocks, however, are not the easiest to install. One has to have the strength and courage to climb trees to hang the ropes. Tony no longer possesses both, and neither do I.  Our boys have no interest in this ancient invention so they didn't figure in the plan.

We settled for a semi-outdoor place of the house where the ropes can be secured with minor effort.  It's not the place I imagined, but hey, a hammock is a hammock is a hammock.

The first try was tragic—the ropes lacked strong enough knots, causing Tony to land on his rear. The second try was an exact repeat of the first. A sore tush twice over is twice tragic.   

Past that, I can now have wordless Wednesdays and silent Saturdays.

How does one explain God's peace beyond understanding? Well, how does one explain the grace of rest?

“…Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”  Matthew 11:28-29