I was up early, time to watch the sun rise and eat some Belizean fry jacks stuffed with goat cheese and refried beans before I met my yoga students for our early morning practice. It being 6:00 am at a resort filled with vacationers sleeping in, it was always only me and the sweet waitress Marie.
Marie refilled my coffee cup and asked what my plans for the day were. I told her I was teaching a yoga class and then planned to, “see what the day brings.”
“Ah,” she nodded. “Skylarking.” With her Belizean patois, it sounded like skee LURKing. She must have noticed my confusion, so she clarified. “To endeavor in shenanigans.” I smiled, completely charmed. When I googled “skelurking and shenanigans,” I realized she was saying skylarking, a new word for me.
Skylarking means to frolic about or indulge in horseplay. Skylarking is goofing off, lollygagging, dilly-dallying, behaving in tomfoolery. The etymology of the word is unclear, but it may have originally been a naval term, sailor’s slang for roughhousing high up in a ship’s rigging, skylarks being known for their joyful singing while hovering high in the air.
Whatever its history, it’s a great word and a message I can really get behind. Last week’s To Do list includes run payroll, send spreadsheet to tax guy, reschedule guitar, pay Izzie’s rent, fill prescription, drop off boxes to UPS, and research HRT. I am putting myself to sleep just making this list, just day after day of sessions and yoga classes and cleaning and chores and errands, nary a shenanigan in sight.
When did my life grow so dire and serious? I am a very cerebral person and am prone to letting deep, serious thoughts drive the bus. I need more silly, more spontaneity, more shenanigans. More skylarking.
We all know that play can boost our creativity, sharpen our sense of humor, and help us cope better with stress. It opens the imagination and invigorates the soul.
It feels like I’ve lost my capacity for silly. I need to lighten up. I’m starting by building in some skylarking time in my calendar. I made a Dance Break Mix to inspire movement, gathered some craft supplies for some unstructured art time, bought a new journal that will hopefully inspire me to write more.
My time here is limited, so I may as well enjoy the ride a little more.