I have noticed that many people get incredibly virtuous and industrious around the time of new year. The moment the Christmas decorations come down they start spring-cleaning their homes and that done, they inevitably start spring-cleaning their lives for good measure.
The resolutions are resolutely made and with a sigh of satisfaction that they have somehow created a new dawn, they boldly embark upon their brightly polished, shiny new existence.
I am not one of these people.
The arrival of January fills me with a feeling of utter torpor. Incidentally, have you noticed how much effort people have taken over creating new words for this? Laziness, indolence, sloth, idleness, sluggishness, lethargy, slackness the list is almost endless depending on the size of your thesaurus. It wears me out just thinking about it.
Understandably, I don't much like to apply any of these very negative-sounding qualities to my own condition. The only word which I might describe myself as if pushed is 'lackadaisical'. This is only because I've always thought of the word as meaning 'daisy-like' which somehow appeals to me.
No, I need some other definition of my inactive state and luckily I have the very thing. I hibernate. Unlike the words above this is a very positive action. Like so many other mammals I am clearly shutting down some of my systems to preserve energy all of which makes me feel a whole lot better about myself.
Phew! That was quite an effort on my part - time for a nap.
I SO agree.
ReplyDeleteI think hibernation is underrated and should be part of employment benefits, like maternity leave.
This links in nicely with my own views on this time of year, Tony. Happy hibernation. ;)
ReplyDeleteI like the word sloth energetically
ReplyDelete