Adopting a shiftless approach to the day hardly qualifies as traditionally acceptable behaviour. Yet such is the nature of my ambition today; that is, an insouciant outlook upon life. It is an unruffled and serene composition, one devoted not to achievement but rather to slap-happy leisure and apathy. The provocation of this aspiring indolence is nonetheless characterized by more than an element of purpose. If one truly wishes to absorb the velvety cool southern breeze, there is with this initiative, as with any preferred objective, a degree of accommodation required. Even enervation, I sadly report, predicts a degree of effort to accomplish meaningfully. Indeed one must disincline oneself from the usual convictions of adult behaviour and adopt instead a near waggish posture, spiriting an acquaintance with one’s erstwhile childish pioneering such as casual sunbathing and idle swimming.  No need to presume the mature gravitation to consult one’s Fitbit or Apple Watch for Workout Details, Active Calories or Elevation Gain. Instead the capitulation is to indolence, uncaring and uninterested.

The resort to languorous indifference is not without its hurdles. The lethargy offends the chronicles of most our lives.  We are instructed instead from an early age to assign ourselves to unremitting labour and productivity.  The entire ritual of capitalism and personal success is conjoined with limitless effort and application. Limpidness and the Laodicean lifestyle are unequivocally distasteful by common standards. Even dare I say odious or somewhat disgusting!

Yet it was to this very oasis of refreshment (the nearby swimming pool, that is) that I baldly journeyed today, remorseless and indifferent. There comes a moment in one’s life when the hard-hearted constancy to a blasé determination is ripe. And upon analysis I resolved within the sanctuary of my inner spirit that accreditation of the marvels of Key Largo – its azure sky, its emerald palm fronds, its burnishing rays – merited my commendation. As with any ritual approbation, the strength of the endorsement lies in its performance.  Accordingly I prepared myself spiritually for the rigorous experience, first by the meticulous application of sunscreen (SunBum 50) followed by a redeeming cycle about the neighbourhood before securing my beach towel upon a chaise longue positioned directly into the glistening yellow orb.

Late this afternoon, following hours of sunshine, we ventured off the compound. I graduated my commitment to today’s enviable bearing by purchasing Aqua Shoes to enable me to frequent the sea as soon as the temperatures climb above 85°F after which the water will be uncompromisingly pleasant.  And I can thereby resist any discomfort from occasional shards of the coral reef.