The Beauty (and Necessity) of Rest
The Beauty (and Necessity) of Rest
By Breanne Szabados
Let’s talk about rest. What comes up for you when you think of rest? Is it simply sleep or is it watching a movie, reading a book? Is it something that you desperately need, but don’t always prioritize? Rest is such a necessary part of self-care, but as life gets busier, it is often the first thing we sacrifice.
I am a (sometimes obsessive) planner. Everything from my work schedule to my meals for the week, my workouts, errands; all of it is usually planned at least a week in advance. I’ve tried to be less rigid and leave some room for spontaneity in my life, so I have learned to let go of attachment to my plans in order to allow for some surprises (and fun!) in life. I used to see a free day or evening on my calendar and immediately think about what fun thing I could schedule or what else I could get done. Nowadays, I look at that free time on my calendar and get excited for a different reason– time to rest! Productivity is ingrained in me, and part of my own personal work is not tying my worth to how productive I am. It’s still a struggle at times. But, I have learned the beauty of rest and how necessary it is for us to show up as our best selves. We exercise and eat healthy food to take care of our bodies and ourselves so we can show up completely for those in our lives; rest is another component that is equally important, but often less of a priority.
It is clear that life is starting to get busier again. More aspects of life that have been on hold for the past year are starting to come back and the calendar is starting to fill up once again. Are you holding space for yourself to rest? To ease back into the excitement and hustle that often fills our days? Most of us are high-functioning people, trying to multi-task and check every item off the seemingly never-ending to-do list. A lot of us aren’t good at rest. So, like most other things, it might take some practice and definitely some intention to implement more of it into our lives.
Rest doesn’t have to mean the same thing to everyone. What feels like rest for you? For me, it’s sitting in the sun at the park with coffee and a good book, catching up on a show I’ve been wanting to watch, abhyanga massage, getting a pedicure, meditating. A huge part of rest for me is resting my mind. I’m an overthinker who always has a million and one things running through my head, so when I can slow down the chatter, focus on something soothing, nurturing and restorative that feels like rest to me. It might be completely different for you.
This week, I encourage you to take some time to think about what feels like rest for you. Jot these things down in your journal or make a note on your phone, so you don’t have to think about it the next time you have space in your day for rest. Make some time, even five minutes, in the coming weeks to do at least one thing that feels like rest for you. I know that it can often feel selfish to take time to rest, but I personally think it is one of the more selfless things we can do. It allows us to re-energize so we can show up fully for ourselves, our work, and the people in our lives. What will you do to rest this week? Let me know in the comments! I’d love to hear how you make space in your life for rest.
