Week 30
Relax.
July 24 - July 30
There is a highly undervalued and grossly underutilized principle out there. I'd be first in the confessional line to air my transgressions in this area, and my commentary is not from perfection of the principle in my own life. Rather, by my own acknowlegement and to my detriment, I have failed to incorporate REST properly into my life. Not free time. Not vacation. Not time off work necessarily, these things are great... but they are not the same as rest.
Someone I respect recently spoke about the idea of rest. His angle was a spiritual one, one of sabbath, and much of what he said resonated with me. He spoke in far reaching terms, where the concept of rest applies to the entire natural world (and I would say even by extention to our man-made world as well). Examples of the need for rest are all around us and have always been. Soil needs rest from producing in order to replenish is nutrients and better enrich the future crops to be planted there. Bodies of water need rest from our lures and nets in order to replenish it's life-sustaining fish populations. Even the mechanical things we've made need rest from our use of them to recharge, cool down and be maintained. Indeed, we need sleep for our bodies to repair and restore themselves and be ready for the next day's challenges. And yet while we need rest in the form of sleep, I believe it reaches much further that that. To me rest involves letting go for a time. Letting go of the responsibilities we have taken on, maybe for a week or more, maybe even for an hour or two. Simply being in one's own presence and the presence of one's creator. Recharging. Input not Output. Many people take "vacations" where they jam in as much entertainment, fun and sometimes neglected personal affairs before returning to work as or more exhausted than when they started their holiday. Nothing against taking these times, they can have value and are necessary in and of themselves, but they aren't rest. To me, rest is being in a place, not doing, but just being.
True rest is pretty rare. Some have found a balance in their lives where rest is a regular if not habitual part of their day or week. I applaud that achievement, and wish it on everyone. For most of us, though, I think we need to work at it. To remember that the world will go on if we take a few moments to ourselves... it might even be better off. We certainly will be. And we'll be better equipped, rejuvinated and ready to serve in whatever capacity we've found ourselves serving.
So take some time this week to rest. Turn off the TV, put down the iPhone and shut down the laptop. Walk out to your local park, hill, or rooftop and sit. Sit and enjoy the sun coming down on you and the sounds of life going on around you. Schedule time to travel to a peaceful place and be transported for a few days. Maybe it's on the other side of the world, maybe it's the other side of town. Somewhere like the river house pictured above where pretty much everything moves at a slower pace. Enable your loved ones to rest. Practice sabbath. Take a real vacation and see what it does for you. I think you and the people around you will be thankful.
Image taken with Canon 5DMII, 24-70 2.8L lens, 15 sec @f22, ISO 100
There is a highly undervalued and grossly underutilized principle out there. I'd be first in the confessional line to air my transgressions in this area, and my commentary is not from perfection of the principle in my own life. Rather, by my own acknowlegement and to my detriment, I have failed to incorporate REST properly into my life. Not free time. Not vacation. Not time off work necessarily, these things are great... but they are not the same as rest.
Someone I respect recently spoke about the idea of rest. His angle was a spiritual one, one of sabbath, and much of what he said resonated with me. He spoke in far reaching terms, where the concept of rest applies to the entire natural world (and I would say even by extention to our man-made world as well). Examples of the need for rest are all around us and have always been. Soil needs rest from producing in order to replenish is nutrients and better enrich the future crops to be planted there. Bodies of water need rest from our lures and nets in order to replenish it's life-sustaining fish populations. Even the mechanical things we've made need rest from our use of them to recharge, cool down and be maintained. Indeed, we need sleep for our bodies to repair and restore themselves and be ready for the next day's challenges. And yet while we need rest in the form of sleep, I believe it reaches much further that that. To me rest involves letting go for a time. Letting go of the responsibilities we have taken on, maybe for a week or more, maybe even for an hour or two. Simply being in one's own presence and the presence of one's creator. Recharging. Input not Output. Many people take "vacations" where they jam in as much entertainment, fun and sometimes neglected personal affairs before returning to work as or more exhausted than when they started their holiday. Nothing against taking these times, they can have value and are necessary in and of themselves, but they aren't rest. To me, rest is being in a place, not doing, but just being.
True rest is pretty rare. Some have found a balance in their lives where rest is a regular if not habitual part of their day or week. I applaud that achievement, and wish it on everyone. For most of us, though, I think we need to work at it. To remember that the world will go on if we take a few moments to ourselves... it might even be better off. We certainly will be. And we'll be better equipped, rejuvinated and ready to serve in whatever capacity we've found ourselves serving.
So take some time this week to rest. Turn off the TV, put down the iPhone and shut down the laptop. Walk out to your local park, hill, or rooftop and sit. Sit and enjoy the sun coming down on you and the sounds of life going on around you. Schedule time to travel to a peaceful place and be transported for a few days. Maybe it's on the other side of the world, maybe it's the other side of town. Somewhere like the river house pictured above where pretty much everything moves at a slower pace. Enable your loved ones to rest. Practice sabbath. Take a real vacation and see what it does for you. I think you and the people around you will be thankful.
Image taken with Canon 5DMII, 24-70 2.8L lens, 15 sec @f22, ISO 100
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