Rest
The word itself can stir deep longing, conjure memories of less complicated life passages, even activate intense resistance.
I invite you to sit with it for just a moment or two. What comes to mind when you think of rest?
The most reflexive response is probably some version of “I wish rest were even an option for me.” We live in a culture that prizes the “hustle”. We are encouraged to “give 110%” in our workplaces, maintain a regular fitness routine, as well as be present for our families, our friends, and our communities. Economic realities make it necessary for many to find some way to earn more money than their regular job provides, further stretching limited energy.
Who has time for rest?
The truth is, we can’t afford not to provide this nourishment to our souls. The more life demands of us, the more critical it is that we deliberately choose moments of non productivity.
The book, Rest is Resistance, by Tricia Hersey was life changing for me. In it, she relates the story of being in graduate school with a heavy academic load, family illnesses while experiencing the personal and historical impact of racial violence. She recalled her grandmother’s example, a woman who was committed to a daily 30-minute meditative practice. As a young girl, Tricia observed her grandmother’s commitment to this and the way the family made a point to not interrupt. When she asked her grandmother about it, her grandmother replied, “Every shut eye ain’t sleep. I am resting my eyes and listening for what God wants to tell me.”
Rotted in her her grandmother’s legacy, Tricia took to napping whenever and wherever she could, whether on campus or at home. The practice not only saved her mental and physical health, but opened her to a new understanding of herself, her history, and her work in the world. I highly recommend this book.
I love the idea of rest not only being a supportive personal practice, but also being a form of resistance to the grind of capitalism. Hersey states it this way, “All of culture is collaborating for us not to rest. We are sleep-deprived because the system views us as machines …”
She goes on to say, :I believe rest, sleep, naps, daydreaming, and slowing down can help us all wake up to see the truth of ourselves. Rest is a healing portal to our deepest selves. Rest is care. Rest is radical.”
Choosing rest is a way of acknowledging that I am human, that I need care. It is an opportunity to tend myself. As I engage regularly with the practice of rest, I become better acquainted with myself as a *being*, in addition to being a “doer of things”. Rest is way of reminding myself that I am worthy of my own attention.
I experience it is as a way of saying, “Life is hard, and I can choose to be gentle with myself.”
Most of us are so tired that when we think of rest, we envision a three hour nap in the middle of the day, and who has time for that?
One of the lovely things about rest is that engaging with it in even the tiniest amounts has significant soul-benefit and seems to make room for more. Here are some of the ways I have invited rest into my life:
- closing my eyes for a few minutes while on public transit
- Going for a walk in a park during my lunch break for the purpose of being with myself
- Pausing for a moment or two after completing one task before moving on to the next, just to savour completion
- Paying attention to my breath, and consciously inhaling deeply, and exhaling slowly and completely
One of my favourite invitations to rest comes from the Message paraphrase of Jesus’ words in Matthew 11:28-30. “Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? … I will show you how to take a real rest … learn the unforced rhythms of grace.”
Rest invites me into rhythm. While I love the feeling of “getting things done”, rest reminds me that there is so much more to me than what I accomplish. Rest reminds me that I am worthy of my own attention, and that in those pauses, Grace is waiting for me.
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