Rest

I am endlessly on this treadmill of life.

At Times

At times we must rest – physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually. We can wait until we drop or we can sharpen our awareness of when we need to rest. Sure, there are times when we cannot rest – pressing demands, crises or long-term requirements. But that is not every day. We need brief periods of rest and sometimes longer ones, when our limits are reached.

Developing an understanding of when we need rest can take time. We have to unwind the conditionings that keep us in motion beyond the reasonable. Rest does not mean we are slacking, rather, we are taking care of ourselves, so that we stay at our best. It must be a conscious and intentional effort to balance ourselves and be at our best.

Neglecting our need for rest has significant consequences. On a physical level, we can damage our health and create a host of problems that slow us down and distract us from what we want to do. On an emotional level, our emotions can go haywire without enough rest and when we go beyond our limits. On a mental level, we have all seen our mental acuity lessen when we are tired and spent.

Full Rest

Staying in motion and neglecting rest can be addictive. We convince ourselves that our world cannot go on without our being in endless motion. We may have pushed ourselves so far in the past that we no longer know how to rest. We may convince ourselves that our value relies on our always being in motion. Or, we know nothing else but constant motion because we have severely neglected our need for rest for a long time.

Rest is productive, not lazy. We cannot ignore this, if we are to live fulfilling and productive lives. Rest is integral to our health and well-being. Rest helps us recharge after exertion. Rest reduces stress and anxiety and improves our mood. It allows our body, mind and emotions to decompress and relax. It gives us new perspectives and heightens our creativity.

Discernment comes in here. We need the ability to know when we are going too far and not giving ourselves the rest we need. We have to identify and be able to see the warning signs that we are in dire need of rest. And once we do, realign so that we do not get to those dire points and can know early when it is time to rest. Discernment helps us integrate rest into our lives.