Familiarity

At the shack:

First time: Smile
Second time: More smiles
Third time: How are you?
Fourth time: The usual?
Fifth time: How many children?
Sixth time: _______________


At the grocer's:

First time: Smile
Second time: Prices are going up
Third time: How many children?
Fourth time: Smiles


At the Staff-room:

First year: Hellos and how are yous
Second half year: What about children? Hurry up before the bus leaves the stop
Second second half: No children, more time no?

Familiarity definitely breeds contempt!

Early risers and compulsive slogs

I do enjoy waking up early before the sun comes up to a quiet and chirpy morning. But alas! I cannot do it every morning or let's say most of the mornings. Well, I can if I want to but I just let myself sleep. I don't much try to make rising early a priority. But, I have seen that early risers always manage to get those Wow! glances and smiles of admiration. Nearly always. When someone rises early and breaks into a run and works out, there is a sense of awe over that individual. It almost seems that people who don't rise early are marginalised and seen as lazy. Every family lauds an early riser and those individuals are always set as shining examples of how life should be lived. Remember the saying: Early to bed and early to rise makes you healthy, wealthy and wise. But don't we all have our own body rhythms and cycles?!?

Now the same applies for those individuals who slog and slog, no matter how tired they are. Now it seems that these sloggers like to slog not because they are wired that way but because certain others are not wired that way. Do you get what I mean. Those who slog endlessly don't know what it means to spend a few minutes without doing something. They abhor idleness and also people who seem to be idle. And almost by default everyone who slogs is an early riser!!!

The world always favours the early risers and compulsive slogs or so it seems. Those who slog always find something to do and are seldom seen taking an afternoon siesta or prolonging a meal. I reckon that the slogging starts off in a very harmless manner and over a period of time becomes an identity. Compliments like, "G is always busy; K always finds something to do; O is never idle" lead the person who slogs to persevere slogging more enthusiastically. Don't they ever relish in just being rather than doing? Sadly, many women are the ones who get into this slogging mode and finally a day comes when they cannot manage and off they snap. But do they have a choice? And sadly, women are also the early risers.

Though I started this post to complain against the unfair means of judging people by the time they rise and the amount of work they do, I went off on a tangent. Well, I forgot to mention chronobiology but then I remember that I had written a post on that a long time ago.

So, are you a proud early riser who flaunts your sleeping habits or are you a poor morning person who sometimes wakes up early? Maybe you slog as well ;)

Image: Internet

Fascinated by Chronobiology

Picking up the latest issue of a weekly magazine, I found an article which gave insights into the natural rhythms of the body. I have read of the circadian rhythm before and was aware that our body followed a certain inbuilt pattern when it came to sleeping and waking.

Now the term 'Chronobiology' was quite interesting to me as 'time' is something that holds an eternal fascination for me. Myths on time always make interesting reading material. Now sleeping and waking processes may seem to be only a singular aspect of life but those patterns determine almost everything that happens to us.

Small changes in our sleeping time can cause havoc to almost every aspect of our life. Quite mind-boggling! Imagining myself to be quite productive and slogging away a few nights in the week can turn my body topsy-turvy. Well, what can a few nights of sleeplessness do to me, I can think but chronobiology proves otherwise. All of us have our own rhythms and patterns that are genetic and environment-based.

Artificial lights, watches, alarms and the like have tampered our natural body rhythms and in the process made us slaves to work and more work.

By reading about the rhythms of the body, I realise how often that I have not let my body be according to its own rhythm. I have forced, cajoled and bribed it to work mercilessly. Here, I find that I have to mention the tribals who don't have any clocks or alarms but still maintain time accurately. No matter how tired they are, they do not wake up late, says the article.

I would love to listen to my body. I do not know how easy this is going to be. Well, do you honour your body's rhythms? Do you slave or love it? Maybe you love it but still slave it. Well . . .

Image: Internet