There's this thing I've been hearing about. Normal people do it; crazed homocidal maniacs do it; teachers and politicians and sales reps and animal trainers also (though sadly very few migrant workers, mothers of small children or impoverished people).

This thing requires that you postpone all activity, often lie prostrate, do not engage in conversation and absolutely come nowhere near a computer, a television or a cell phone. Often it's suggested one do this alone, or at most, with, at most, one other person or a single, obedient pet.

I've long heard of it, but rarely attempted it, but maybe you have?

It's called rest.

Apparently it's quite good for the soul and the body too. Rejuvenating, pleasurable and best of all it requires very little preparation (except to walk away from the 685 projects you have going at any given moment).

Those of us who are new to the activity of rest are fairly easy to spot, I've been told. Our eyes are often slightly bugged out, bloodshot or pinned from some form of stimulant, or just the sheer endorphin rush of our own activities. We often appear to be listening to some inner music that only we can hear and, when spoken to, may take a longer-than-usual number of seconds to register that we've heard you, usually with the phrase, "Huh, whatssat?"

We are liable to feign the activity of rest, to attempt blending in, by reading, walking or watching television while simultaneously folding laundry, or by posting on our blogs rather than actually doing the proscribed nothing that is the main prerequisite of this rest business.

Stopping, you see, for those of us who are rest-resistant, takes us one large step closer to a terrible, frightening place where personal demons, unanswered letters, forgotten memories, books we've meant to read, clothes we've meant to give to the goodwill, big dreams we've planned to achieve but have not gotten around to, and bilious rages at various and assorted guardians who may have either raised us or contributed to that botched job, reside.

So...rest. Despite that those who do engage in it tend to have lovely complexions and full, perky breasts, extremely luxurious heads of hair and longer life spans, I'm not sure I'm ready to commit to it yet. I don't know that they've looked into the side-effects very well.