Rest: A forbidden four letter word

The concept is so simple it's almost surprising but the actual execution of rest is much more difficult. It pushes hard against our social norms. Nowadays rest has been conflated with laziness, underachieving and wasting of time. Just as each day gives way to night, the energy we expend needs to be restored. Finding relaxation and ease is an essential part of our natural biological rhythm and a critical component of any healing process.

Our bodies call to us constantly, a gentle tap, tap, tap on the shoulder. Whispering ‘slow down,’ ‘take rest,’ ‘pause.’ Mindlessly we swat away these love notes delivered sweetly from our bodies. Remaining fixed on going non-stop, no matter what the cost, even if the price is our physical, emotional and spiritual well-being.

Instead of driving down hard on the OVERRIDE button with each thought that pushes us to work one more hour at the end of a long week or add one more event to our already over scheduled social calendar. What if we soften the grip of the mind so we may listen for the first gentle tap then paused to open and read that sweet love note.