I've been bonding with the couch lately.
For some reason, the fact I rarely sleep in a bed disturbs many people. Especially my parents. I don't know why this is. What does it matter where I sleep? Still my folks are always urging me to rest in a legit bed, whether I'm up at the ranch or over on the coast at their place.
Call my love of overstuffed cushions and tall, warm backsides, a latent fetal thing or some sort of dependency issue. Call it weak. Call it really childish, like needing a bottle or a binky -that's pacifier for those of you who haven't bonded with toddlers in the know lately.
I don't really know why I gave up my bed a couple years back. It just didn't feel right.
I've spent many years sleeping in the tight, bouncy confines of semi truck sleepers. I spent the better part of my first attempt at college, all four years of them, sleeping in a dorm. During my last round of college, I was working so many jobs while trying to finish my Bachelor's degree that I did a lot of sleeping in my truck.
For some reason, a big huge bed just seems exactly that-it's too big. Too huge. Too empty. Too much reinforcement of the vacancy sign that hangs ever present over the hearts of too many fellow travelers.
The couch, now that's right sized sleeping if there ever was such a thing. I lay down each night when my vision fails me, and I hear the night. I hear the softest caress of the ever present breezes through the towering Bull Pines. Even with my gaze all distorted, I stare up through the window, and I can see those tall trees standing sentinel over me. I know that whether or not the stars shine, the moon bends and cavorts between the evergreen branches or if flurries spit, that those trees are ever present. Bull Pines represent the refuge of strength.
I usually rest by pulling a Pendleton Wool Blanket tight around me. Even in winter, they provide abundant warmth, and coupled with the couch, the sleep is deep and perfect. In the midst of dream time, I often hear the low rumble of thunder off the Selkirk Crest, or hear the wind change pitch and the symphony of a downpour let loose on my metal roof. These are reassurances that nature remains present and accounted for, and that such interruptions are meant to complement, not disturb dream time.
Upon waking, I am usually looking straight into that deep blue western sky. Some mornings, as the dawn peaks through, the colors mirror Magenta and Purple and breathtaking. I see best in the morning, and as the coffee nudges me toward clarity, that first image can set the stage for whatever the day offers.
The couch, saddled right next to the window, is the closest thing to a view of heaven I can find. Although I often trade couches, and sometimes seek the floor, just as long as I am close to a window that's as close as I can come to predictability. Depending on the night, I may sleep on the river side or the mountain side of my cliff perched cabin. Or sometimes I just sneak out to my pick up truck and recline. Just so long as my face finds the big sky, I believe my dreams follow.
I guess in my mind, it matters not where you lay your head. But rather where your heart takes you when you close your eyes. With surroundings like these, it stands to reason that with a window such as mine opening to the world, the journey I travel whether in slumber or awake, can only be fine.
Which is fine by me.
Today's pictures are courtesy of Jeanette Hill and her recent fly fishing excursion in the refuge of the Olympic Range. Her pictures seemed the perfect accompaniment to dreamtime.
Prayers
For Russ, Stacy, Chris, Mark, Cathy, Keith, Dawson and Paul.
For all the troops, everywhere.
For the nomads of the world...the truckers, the pilots, the rodeo cowboys and anyone who still hasn't found home...
Links
...Lutherans tackle gay issues...
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/07/26/AR2005072601243.html
...Adult toy store changes name...
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/lifestyle/234042_tf227.html
...A long hard slog...Maine revisits the issue of discrimination...
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/07/27/national/27maine.html?th&emc=th
...Le Tour de France sports strategy as applied to domestic policy
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/07/27/opinion/27friedman.html?th&emc=th
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