The No-Zone

Its 3:00 in the morning and I’m wide awake. I keep trying to tell my body that I am no longer on the equator and the 38th degree parallel. I’ve traveled way north and pretty much to the exact opposite side of the world, following daylight through two full days. But my body won’t believe me. At 3:00 am I’m up doing laundry, my mind cranked with thoughts and countless details that span the two worlds I have inhabited. Can’t seem to turn it off. By noon I’m a drooling mess, can’t think about anything but hitting the pillow. I answered a phone call yesterday and realized later that I had no idea what I’d said. It was something about a bridal shower I’m hosting next week.In a beautiful book called Anam Cara, a book of Celtic wisdom, I once read a story that told of an English explorer that pushed harder and harder with the natives that were carrying his stuff. He had a schedule to keep. They kept slowing down, and eventually stopped all together. He yelled at them.  Beat them. Nothing would persuade them to get going. Finally he asked them why they had stopped.  “We have moved too quickly to arrive here; we need to wait to let our spirits catch up with us,” they said.I can relate. They were in the No-Zone. It's a strange place to be.