In my second blog post about reclaiming aspects of our lives that have been lost in the post-industrial era, I want to address reclaiming rest. During the darker months especially, there is an opportunity to slow down, turn inward and reflect. And yet, in our chronically busy world, most of us rarely take that opportunity, and the truth is, we might be missing something we have forgotten we sorely need.
The fact is that rest is so much more than recharging your battery after using up its energy. Since the industrial revolution, we have been expected to mimic machines and we have come to treat our bodies as such. The fact that we are not machines and yet are trying to behave like them only results in burnout and disease. But more than that, rest is not just about powering a machine down so it can function more efficiently and productively later (although that is at the very minimum a reason to get adequate rest).
In her book Reclaiming Rest, Kate Rademacher challenges our modern attitudes about what is required to accomplish our career goals. For years she lived under the assumption that “saving the world” required burning the candle at both ends, living in a state of constant urgency. In her book, she reflects on the purpose of having a sabbath day – something that is still held sacred by many cultures but has been abandoned by most people who are participating in the 24/7 demands of a capitalistic society. Even for those who do not follow a religious tradition, the practice of keeping sacred ‘a day of rest’ is something we could all benefit from.
What have we lost in not holding at least one day in the week for solitude, stillness and reflection? In many ways, I believe we have lost our wisdom. Wisdom can only emerge from stillness, from a quiet mind, not a frenetically busy, stressed and fatigued one. When our minds and bodies are rested, we find clarity and fresh solutions to old problems. We are able to live more intentionally, and that benefits us, our loved ones and the planet.
Whatever your opinion was of the lockdown we experienced during the pandemic, one thing became clear: many people finally slowed down enough to have big epiphanies about their lives and the world. And also, during that time, bodies of water cleared up, skies became blue again instead of smoggy, the earth began to heal itself. These silver linings of the lockdown are signs of the shifts that could be possible if we allowed our minds to rest and find stillness more of the time. When we don’t take the time to pause and reflect, we often spend much of our days on auto-pilot, or in a reactive state of mind.
When we step out of the utilitarian mindset of post-industrial society, we find not only that rest enables us to think more clearly, but it also feels good; it is nourishing for our bodies and minds. The challenge is that many people’s minds are so restless nowadays due to shortened attention spans and constant digital stimulation, that rest is hard to get to. Many people resist stillness, afraid of what might enter their minds if they are suddenly alone with their thoughts.
But it is only when we are able to let our minds quiet down that we can find peace – to unplug from constant stimulation, to put aside the worries, the to-do list, the shoulda-woulda-couldas. Peace exists beyond all the mental noise, when we finally surrender, let go and relax. And from that reservoir we find renewal, rejuvenation, and inspiration. We see possibilities. We have hope.
So, rest isn’t just about getting your 8 hours of sleep in. It’s about giving your mind space to breathe, to enliven, to awaken. It’s about nourishing your soul and connecting to yourself and your wisdom. If we all began taking a day of rest again, we might find ourselves living in a very different world.
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