Rhythms of Rest

Beloveds,

I missed you these past 2 weeks. How have you been? I travelled and that kept me from you. There is, after all, only so much time in the day! (And rest is essential.)

Speaking of rest…do you believe rest is essential? What we really believe is evidenced in how we spend our days.

It can be a “gotcha” moment. In our heads, we might readily say “rest is important",” but what does our calendar say? What does our sleep schedule say? What would our loved ones and coworkers say? What is our body saying?

If you’re like me, you have to learn the hard way about your limits as a human. Limits are something we often bristle at and something we push back on.

Rest is an acknowledgement that we have limits. Rest is not just a concept it is a practice and a discipline. Rest invites us into healthier living.

We don’t automatically know how to rest as we advance through our maturation into adulthood. There is much that wasn’t free in our decision-making because our livelihood was dependent on others. And there is much that wasn’t modeled for us.

So much of who we become arises from modeling. Did you have good models of rest as you grew up or was it go-go-go?

To answer these questions, we need a working definition of rest. I am defining rest as activities and periods of time that leave your rejuvenated, refreshed, and RESTored. The beginning of these words all begin with “RE-” meaning to do again, to return to.

We need rest at regular intervals - daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly, bi-annually, annually, and sabbatically (every 5-10 years). These moments of rest require planning, attention, and resources. To live our healthiest lives we much establish and re-establish rhythms of rest throughout our lives. What works for you, likely won’t work for me, or for my neighbor. It takes practice and we need different things at different seasons of our life.

I just recorded a podcast dedicated to rest - particularly establishing rhythms of rest at the various intervals. As always, it’s on YouTube and the various podcast distributors and you can also access directly here.

Questions for Contemplation:

• What rest habits do you have?

• What did rest look like in your family of origin and friendships?

• Do the things you do for rest actually leave you feeling rested?

• From daily rest to sabbatical rests, what are you good at an what could be improved?

May you always see the blessing, beloveds.

-esb

P.S. - Thanks for being here. I’d love to hear how you’re doing!

P.P.S. - The art and information in these emails is my copyright, unless otherwise indicated/credited.

P.P.P.S. - Here’s a list of things true about rest: