I’ve been struggling with my phone lately. It is probably time for an upgrade, but I’m trying to put it off as long as possible, so I’ve been in contact with my cell provider’s tech support staff. I talked with a kind, competent and helpful customer service staff member last week. She had a slight accent and her word choices helped me know she was from another part of the world. I described the issues I’ve had and what I have done to try and fix the trouble. She made some additional suggestions of things to try to further troubleshoot once we were finished with the call.
As the conversation came to a close, she asked when it would be convenient for me to receive a callback, to check if my phone was working better. It was mid-day at that point, and thinking about the time it would take to complete the steps we had discussed, I suggested she call me the next day. She apologized, saying that wouldn’t work since “tomorrow is my rest day.”
My rest day. I like that. It felt calming as I considered the possibility. A day of rest seems quite different than a “day off” from work (a day defined by the activities we are trying NOT to do). It sounds like a day for relaxation, self-care and recovery.
As things have been opening up again after so many months of shutdown, it feels good to be busy again. I have sometimes wondered, though, if it might be too much. Just because there are so many possibilities of things we can now do again, that doesn’t mean we are well-served by packing our days and weeks as full as possible. We cannot make up for the months of Covid-19 isolation by over-scheduling now. And really, the pace we kept before may not have been the wisest or healthiest for us.
So, create time for rest in your life. It may not be workable to take a whole day, but you might be able to set aside a couple hours. Chose to do something that you find relaxing. Intentional rest can be more restorative than inadvertently “wasting” time; there is something significant about choosing rest rather than falling into it. Make space where you can rest for its own sake. Set aside moments when you can renew your energy. You will return to your work with a different energy and focus after you have take some time away.
May you find time for rest in the midst of productivity this week.
May your body, mind, and spirit be refreshed by time away from activity.
Peace,