Rest

When was the last time you honestly rested?  Where you were truly not involved in anything else. No text conversation. No Netflix. No YouTube. We so frequently steal our own rest time away from ourselves with busy work because we don’t feel we really deserve the rest. But you do.

Just. Rest.

Your brain rests when there is no input creating stimulus. Your soul rejuvenates when you take time for quiet. It doesn’t have to be for long. A bath, a walk, a sunset in solitude, or a sit in the park listening to the wind in the trees. Even a book and a cup of tea go a long way to settling your soul and keeping your peace.

All day long you pile feelings and thoughts into your heart and soul. You give advice, you deal with uncomfortable situations, you pour yourself into passions, you ache for other’s hurts, and you feel a waterfall of emotions in just a single day. Because our souls are sponges we can hold a shocking amount, but sooner or later we’re saturated and we need to wring out our soaked soul.

Taking a few moments every day to squeeze away some of the stress gives you that little extra slice of patience on the freeway and that last boost of energy you need to finish the day. Who knows? You might love it and it could even lead to a meditation practice? Worse things could happen.

So find a place to take even just 3 minutes of peace, of rest, of quiet. Ask the people in your life to help you find that place. Find a spot at lunch to make quiet happen. Ask you partner how you can create space for quiet for each other. It doesn’t have to be the same time or place or even for the same amount of time every day. Look for the little moments you can take for yourself.

Ask yourself how you feel after quiet time and be honest…do you want more of it? I bet you probably do. Go for it.