Rest As a Natural Cycle
Red and golden leaves are falling from trees, seed pods have formed on annuals, and plants are hunkering down for the winter. For gardens in the colder regions of the country, we are entering a time of rest. There is a natural cycle to this that plants don’t have the will or consciousness to resist. Or perhaps they do, but they know it is not in their best interest.
All organisms need periods of rest, but humans sometimes struggle with the concept. The world is moving at hyper speed and there are days it may seem impossible to catch a breath, let alone take time to refresh.
The mindfulness focus word for the week is rest.
This isn’t an assignment to rest more or take more down time, although that might happen naturally as we focus our attention on these concepts. The idea this week is to simply pay attention to rest. … if and when we allow ourselves to rest, how we do it, and what our internal messages are about it. Many of us, me included, have some negative feelings about rest.
In our 24/7 world it is easy to be disdainful of any down time. The cultural messages tell us there is no time for it. If we take time to rest we are missing out on life, on excitement, on opportunity. There is a feeling that we need to be “on”, available, and electronically connected to everyone all the time. Otherwise, we are slackers. This week’s task includes gently paying attention to the messages and our feelings about rest. We may or may not choose to change our relationship to rest, but a first step is being attentive to the concept and our feelings about it.
Each person deserves a day away in which no problems are confronted, no solutions searched for. Each of us needs to withdraw from the cares which will not withdraw from us. Maya Angelou
For more information on my weekly mindfulness focus words click here.
