relaxation is.... | Imamother

etky

Sat, Mar 22 2014, 11:51 am

My favorite place to relax is the Dead Sea - no, not at the beach (I'm with Zaq and Tablepoetry on that), but on the balcony of a really nice hotel room overlooking the view. I start relaxing as soon as we leave the city and start our descent towards the desert. I love that slightly disoriented feeling, the lack of visual stimuli, the monotony of the panorama, that uncluttered view and the sense of returning to something basic and primal. It's sort of like leaving the world behind and entering another dimension. And it's nice to know that when I've had my fill of the view and crave physical sustenance, the hotel offers really good food (and air conditioning!).

bigsis144

Sun, Mar 23 2014, 8:55 am

freidasima wrote:

Beach doesn't necessarily mean sand. There are pebble beaches and who is talking about getting gritty or dirty? One sits on a chair watching the waves and relaxing...like civilized people do.

As for the exhaustion after you know what...that's not relaxation. That is work.
Let me explain. The actual act is work. Physical exercise. And that's not relaxing. On top of that one wants to make one's partner happy to so one is concentrating on another person and trying to make that person happy. That's not relaxing. And if you aren't doing that, then you are just being selfish. And that's not relaxing in my book either. That's something else.

Therefore while doing it may be tremendous fun, fun isn't necessarily relaxation. Two different things. Each has its time. Relaxation is something which is you. You you you centered without having to push off taking care of other people because they just are not involved. That's sitting on a beach. Watching the waves.

Did you even read what I wrote?
What about the words "post-" and "exhaustion" made you think I was referring to the act itself? I'm talking about the aftermath, when all those happy endorphins are in your system. There's even a medical term for the fact that you're NOT doing anything at the time: "refractory period".

As a metaphor: think of what I'm saying like I'm saying there's no relaxation like sitting down to the seder after weeks slaving away cleaning for Pesach. The hard work beforehand can even amplify the feeling of contentment when it's all over.