Originally posted Dec 13, 2009 on NHB Gear

I enjoy all the ceremony around cigar smoking – selecting a cigar, making the cut, lighting, etc.  But after 45 minutes I want to move on to something else.

I find that activities intended to make me relax make me nervous and antsy.  For example, if I get in a sauna as soon as I sit down I think, “Jeez, how long am I supposed to sit in here?  Am I done yet?  Man, this is getting old.  It’s hard to breathe in here.”  I mean in the first minute.  Or if I go to a yoga class and they tell me to relax, right away I’m thinking, “What does she mean ‘relax’? Don’t tell me to relax! I’m perfectly relaxed.  Well, I was until she said that. I have things to do. What time is it?”

I don’t usually do other things when I smoke a cigar.  It’s just cigar smoking time.   As soon I become aware of the fact that I’m just relaxing and smoking a cigar I get all this nervous energy and I have to move on to some other activity.