Tension Relief

 

There's a fashionable new trend spreading throughout Europe known as Omphaloskepsis.  

Omphaloskepsis, or navel-gazing, is contemplation of one's navel as an aid to meditation and relaxation.

The statue above, which is at the entrance of a relaxation parlour near us, is a replica of the original at the Louvre in France. These four creatures are satyrs. In Greek mythology, a satyr, also known as a silenos, is a male nature spirit. They are in fact gazing at their navels and not at what you might think.

Men and women attend these Navel Bases to gaze at their navels and relax away the tensions and pressures of modern life. For an additional fee they can also gaze at other peoples' navels in the unisex communal area. It is a place where people go to air their differences.

I met a famous omphaloskepsis expert there to tell me more about this mode of relaxation. Professor Como Toez explained to me that by gazing at one's navel, or at someone opposite you, and breathing in and out slowly it will wash away all the pent up tension of a busy and difficult day. Of course, one can do this at home like the statue above, or by standing in front of a mirror; but it is not the same as communal navel gazing. It's like watching the sky at night, he said.

He added that omphaloskepsis dates back many years. The statue above dates from the second century AD and was found in Rome. Artists over the years have featured omphaloskepsis in their paintings. Like Titian who lived in the late 1400s:

As you can see, he is gazing at her navel and relaxing at the same time, 

And the Flemish painter Peter Paul Rubens who lived between 1577 and 1640: 

It is also believed that the reason the Mona Lisa is smiling is because she was looking at the Leonardo Da Vinci's navel at the time. Apparently, he liked to paint people in the nude. 

 

For your homework today; can you find out if chickens have navels. I think not; which explains why they are never relaxed.