Coffee Chat: Late Nights (The Sequel To Early Mornings)

I admit, I'm getting older and don't stay up as late as in my younger years. But late nights in summer are so relaxing. They can be the best part of the whole day.

There is absolutely nothing like sitting out on the back deck, winding down from a long day. The smell of the warm summer breeze and the feeling of it wafting over your skin is so relaxing. I love listening to the crickets play their music while the frogs throw in their harmony from the banks of the creek. Every once in a while and owl makes itself known from afar.

Just like in the Early Mornings, the world seems at peace except for the faint sound of a passing truck or car. The glow of the street lights reveals a sleepy little town where it almost seems like they have rolled up the streets after dark. The kids are asleep. Finally, there is a chance to take a deep breath and ponder the happenings of the day or plan the next.

If you have an outdoor fireplace or a fire pit, the gentle sounds of crackling can be heard. The smell of the burnt wood blows past you as it catches a ride on the breeze. Lone embers float up to the sky and burn themselves out as you watch while sipping a cool beverage.

Mmmm, Sun Tea! Slow brewed all day long.

I love summer nights in my gliding rocker on the deck. Start the mornings on the deck waking up with the sun and end the nights on the deck winding down from the day. Now that is the good life.

Detoxify Yourself From Media

Day after day it seems there is nothing but death, destruction, bitterness, and unhappiness flooding in on us from every direction. It is hard not to get discouraged. It is time for a wind down from the news of the day. To find away to relax and enjoy life.

To Follow Or Unfollow

One of the things that I did on Facebook was Unfollow. I Unfollowed news organizations, news papers, and even some of my friends. I know this sounds harsh, especially the friend part. Keep in mind that Unfollowing is not the same as Unfriending. Unfollowing only shuts down the feed that comes from them to your page. You still can be friends with them. You just don't have to see what they are talking about or posting all the time. If you change your mind and decide that you wish to see them on your feed you can always follow them again. It isn't permanent. I love my Facebook family and friends.

Why did I Unfollow these organizations and people? There are many organizations, especially the news, that nearly always only put negative things on their pages. If I am going to have a continuous feed on Facebook, it had better be the good and the bad. There are positive things that happen all of the time but they rarely make the news. I know I would like to hear or read them, wouldn't you?

As far as Unfollowing actual  friends or even family, the reason is clear. We all have those friends or family members that are never happy, it seems. Whether it is negative political talk or the constant posts of profanity, hate talk, dirty talk, or just plain constant talk about how the world is against them. Sometimes, if they have extreme views on things, it is an easy solution to keep in touch with them and preserve the relationship rather than removing them from your friends list.

Sometimes It Is Good Just To Detoxify Yourself From All Media 

Another thing that I do on a regular basis is avoid the news for a few days at a time. There is nothing on there that I won't see in a few days. Not turning on the TV during news hours so that I can detoxify myself. Trust me when I tell you that it is nearly impossible to avoid the news completely because word of mouth, books, magazines, social media, and television are all around us. So unless we barricade ourselves in a cave somewhere away from everyone, which sounds nice at times, we will hear about it.

No, I don't bury my head in the sand. As a matter of fact, I like to keep informed and before I talk about something I like to research it to make sure that the information is correct. Eventually, I catch up on everything I have missed. But it is important not to let the negativity of the world take you down with it. Find a place and a way to recharge from it all.

The Book I Will Be Reading For A Year!

The current book that I am reading, I will be reading for a year. Seems like a long time to be reading one book right?

The book is The Intellectual Devotional: American History.  I chose history because I like history. However, there are several other subjects in this line of books as you will see by the link above. These are New York Times Bestsellers. Written by David S. Kidder and Noah D. Oppenheim. Obviously, there are several types of devotionals but this is the one I chose. I do have faith based ones as well.

It is a great book so far and keeps my mind sharp. There are times when I can't seem to remember anything, sometimes even simple words. My brain goes dumb on me and I feel like my mind is slipping. I have found that the best way to cure this for me is to actually read a book. It doesn't have to be long or even informative really. Even a romance novel, which I call 'no brain activity', ironically enough, because you know how they all end, will do. Reading a book stimulates my brain to wake it up. This combined with being active and getting fresh air are a great combination to keep things working right.

Not the book I'm reading but a very good alternative.

I have tried E-Readers, which are great, mind you. But for me, I need the stimulation of the senses as well. In other words, I need to hold the actual book in my hands, turn the pages, and feel the texture of them at my fingertips. I am also one of those strange people that likes the smell of books. I can't get that with and E-Reader. By engaging most of my senses, my mind is stimulated more and I tend to remember more of what I read. A daily devotional kind of book offers the opportunity to do this on a daily basis and a smaller scale, while learning a bit about history.