While standing at the urinal, I get a chance to catch a little shut eye
If you’re working more hours in a week than there are hours in a week, then you know how special those magic moments are during the day when you have a chance to close your eyes and drift off, if only for a few seconds. The spontaneity of this nano respite is made even more golden because of its brevity. For just a few seconds you are quiet, alone, absolutely devoid of outside distractions or interruptions.
Where do you find those golden respites? For me not much else beats the stillness of the urinal. However, I find similar opportunities for a brief nap when I’m sitting in the drive-thru line at Hardy’s. It’s not quite as good because I have to peek occasionally to see if I need to advance in line so as not to hold up an eager patron behind me who is salivating for his morning burrito.
It used to bug me to sit in the doctor’s waiting room for 45 minutes before going in to an inner office to wait for another 30 minutes. Not anymore. The relative calm and anonymity of the waiting room is a wonderful place to shut out the world for just a few minutes. You can take a power nap in that setting with so much idle time on your hands.
Waiting for a light to turn green is another opportunity for a rest, brief as it is. Again, you can’t check out entirely because you have to make sure you crunch the accelerator as soon as the light changes; otherwise, you will be awakened by a cacophony of horns. What a way to be jolted back to reality.
I find the elongated morning pastoral prayer in church to be incredibly restful. It is one of those rare times where closing your eyes and napping is perfectly acceptable because it’s under the cover of worship. It’s a terrific five minutes. One can actually begin the first chapter of a sensuous dream.
The one place I can’t seem to get any rest is in bed. As soon as I hit the pillow, my mind shifts into high gear and I replay the day at work, revisit every endless committee meeting and prepare for tomorrow’s agenda. If only I could sleep at night as well as I can during that interval at the urinal.
Where and when do you take a nano nap?
