The Value of Rest
Photo by Aaron Burden
This week I came across a quotation that stuck with me:
"Rest is not just a reward for finishing." -- Myquillyn Smith
I am nearing the home stretch in this particular grad school class and will soon have a week off. I have been pondering what that rest week needs to look like for me and what it should include. I tend to treat Sundays as a rest day as much as possible, but I came across this article that talks about different kinds of rest. The author, Molly Shea, talks about physical, mental, social, creative, emotional, spiritual, and sensory rest as being specific, needed entities. I don't know about you, but I'm only checking off a few of those categories in terms of how I approach rest.
I am still processing what the above quote means for me. I have been recognizing a tendency within myself of wanting to keep working because I'm convinced I will feel better just getting something out of the way and off of my to do list. But, while preparation can serve a calming purpose, the to do list will always be never-ending. There is a reason that God commanded the Israelites to rest. Within this world, the finish line will always be moving. Rest has to mean that we let ourselves be still even when our world is not.
During this pandemic, I have struggled with insomnia off and on, and I've become more and more aware of all that my body and soul take in that I don't always recognize in my mind. For this reason, I want to become more in-tune with the kind of rest each aspect of myself is asking for.
And, in the spirit of rest, this post is ending here with a simple invitation to contemplate with me what kind of rest you need. If you had a week off for rest, how would you spend it?
"Rest is not just a reward for finishing." -- Myquillyn Smith
I am nearing the home stretch in this particular grad school class and will soon have a week off. I have been pondering what that rest week needs to look like for me and what it should include. I tend to treat Sundays as a rest day as much as possible, but I came across this article that talks about different kinds of rest. The author, Molly Shea, talks about physical, mental, social, creative, emotional, spiritual, and sensory rest as being specific, needed entities. I don't know about you, but I'm only checking off a few of those categories in terms of how I approach rest.
I am still processing what the above quote means for me. I have been recognizing a tendency within myself of wanting to keep working because I'm convinced I will feel better just getting something out of the way and off of my to do list. But, while preparation can serve a calming purpose, the to do list will always be never-ending. There is a reason that God commanded the Israelites to rest. Within this world, the finish line will always be moving. Rest has to mean that we let ourselves be still even when our world is not.
During this pandemic, I have struggled with insomnia off and on, and I've become more and more aware of all that my body and soul take in that I don't always recognize in my mind. For this reason, I want to become more in-tune with the kind of rest each aspect of myself is asking for.
And, in the spirit of rest, this post is ending here with a simple invitation to contemplate with me what kind of rest you need. If you had a week off for rest, how would you spend it?
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