RESTING

"Resting", oil, by Leslie Saeta

          I was resting my elbows on my desk just moments ago, and it made me think about how many other things are always available to help me let up and relax a little. The chairs and sofas, for instance, around the house  are simply places for pausing for rest. When I’m sitting on a sofa, it’s as if the sofa is saying, Stay with me and rest awhile. Even the carpeted floors in our house are places for easing up and slowing down -- soft supports, you might say, where 71-year-old feet can find some useful rest. I guess, honestly, resting places are presented to me almost everywhere – the sidewalks that are more restful for my feet than the often rutted roads, the cushioned seat in my car that cares for me while I drive, even, I suppose, the whole earth that holds me pleasantly up while I take it easy for hours and years at a time, for almost all my heaven-sent nights and days.