Rest

Tomorrow is Shabbat. For us Jews, there is much that is holy and special about this day. One of my favorite (and probably the most widely known) purposes of Shabbat is rest.

I’m extremely resistant to resting—I am always moving, always working, always learning, always consuming or producing information, and always focused on efficiency and productivity. I always thought that resting was frivolous, unnecessary, and a waste of time. I’m a good little capitalist—I’ve been trained well here in the US. Maybe you can relate.

This resistance to rest has caused many problems for me, mentally and physically and emotionally. I’ll give you one example. There have been several times over the past decade where I have worked so hard and ignored my body’s signals that it needed rest, and I ended up incapacitated—not being able to get up or stay awake for more than a few hours— for days at a time. No diagnosis other than pure exhaustion and self-neglect. I have other exhaustion stories that I’m sure I’ll share later on at some point. This might sound crazy to you. This might sound like something you’ve experienced yourself.

Incorporating rest into my daily and weekly routines has been a challenge—it’s very uncomfortable for me to take even just a short period of time to pause, breathe, and just *be*. Not journaling or listening to a podcast or cooking or going for a run or working on a little project, but literally just being. The discomfort is worth it, though, because I know that this rest is something my body and mind need in order to stay well.

Are you resistant to the idea of letting yourself rest?

Do you habitually ignore your mind and body’s signals that you need rest?

Do you know your mind and body’s signals that tell you that you need to rest?

Do you know what kind of rest feels most rejuvenating and healing to you?

Are you interested in taking steps to incorporate rest into your daily and/or weekly routine?

I suggest you start by answering these questions, by exploring ways in which you most enjoy resting, and by scheduling 5 minutes each day for pure rest. This could literally be 5 minutes before bed for deep breathing. This could be 5 minutes before you eat a meal for thinking about things you’re grateful for. This could be 5 minutes before you get out of bed in the morning to enjoy how your bed feels, to enjoy the feeling of waking up, to do some more deep breathing.

I hope this post serves you. I hope you take 5 minutes today, and every day this week, for true rest. I hope you listen to your body when it asks you to slow down or pause. I hope you don’t feel guilty when you do.

If you have questions about rest, about listening to your body, or about scheduling rest into your life, you can always reach me here.

I love you! I’ll talk to you tomorrow. Until then, let’s both get some good rest. <3