Episode 50: More Rest

Hello, my friends Welcome to episode 50. We are going to continue our conversation about rest.  Last week we discussed 4 of the 9 types of rest and today we are going to talk about the rest. So as a reminder, the first 4 were:

1.      time away

2.      Permission to not be helpful

3.      Something unproductive

4.      Art and nature

Did you find rest in any of these ways?

Which ones felt like real rest?

Did any feel uncomfortable?

Resting is a practice.

Let’s explore some more kinds of rest.

1.      alone time to recharge: Now I am an introvert so this one resonates with me but may not be your favorite if you are a different personality than me. But rest for me having time alone. This can be 5 mins to breathe, this can be paddling out on the lake just a little ways away from my friends or this can be reading, watching a movie (maybe even going to a movie) all alone. Now others may not find this restful they may need to create time with others to recharge and that is exactly what they need.

2.      a break from responsibility: I think sometimes we all just need a break from being in charge but maybe that doesn’t feel at all possible to you. Consider it though. Could you ask a co-worker to run a meeting for you once a week so you could experience what it was like not to be the one responsible for the meeting? Could you make a child or a spouse in charge of dinner once a month so you were not responsible? What is the one thing you dream of not being responsible for? How could you even find 5 mins to be freed from that responsibility, yet have it taken care of so you could truly rest?

3.      stillness to decompress: now then we are short on time stillness seems to be the furthest thing from the priority list but it is often the thing we need most. I watch a lot of busyness going on. A lot of running and running and no ability to stop. We are not made for running all the time. Stillness is needed even if it is just for a few minutes. Meditations and guided meditations are amazing for this. Simple stillness can give us time to see what needs to be done and what doesn’t matter.

4.      safe space: this I think is incredibly important. We all need a safe space. And having a safe space to enter every day, every week, or every month can bring so much joy and resiliency. What is your safe space? This could be a therapist’s office, this could be your home office, this could be a closet or a barn, this could be a meditation or a mental or virtual place where you can go for rest. How can you create a safe space for you to land when you need rest?

5.      alone time at home: once again, I think alone may be more restful to some personality types more than others but I do think that home can be very restful. But what places feel like home to you? Sometimes I head to the mountains to feel at home, sometimes to the pasture to find my favorite cow, and sometimes to the barn for the smells of home. Home can be created in each of our souls in many different ways. How can you create time at home for you to rest?

As I have thought more about these types of rest I realized that many of them overlap. Safety can be our homes, alone time can be in nature or a museum, and time away can be a break from responsibility.

But truly what type of rest did you think was impossible?

What kind of rest did you yearn for?

Listen to that inner wisdom.

It’s time to create some rest in your life.

It doesn’t have to be expensive.

It doesn’t have to be time-consuming.

It just has to feel like rest.

It will be fun.

Have a wonderful week.