Rest
I recently rang a relative to wish her happy birthday and asked her what she planned to do for the day. She candidly replied, "Work. We are a hard-working family, remember?"
She was telling the truth. I grew up watching my family till the soil with their bare hands, after all "by the sweat our brow" we had to eat. There is nothing wrong with working hard to provide for yourself and others but at what cost?
I decided a long time ago that would not be my narrative.
Balance
I know what it means to work yourself to the ground. I know what it means to grind and hustle. I know what it means to get caught up in the horrors and toxicity of capitalism. I had to watch my mother do it and, for a while, I inherited that culture.
But there is nothing wrong with laying it down and walking away to redefine productivity.
I know what it means to work myself to exhaustion but, I also know what it means to unplug. I know what it means to meet deadlines but, I also know what it feels like to make time to do absolutely nothing. I go hard to achieve my goals but, I also ensure that I schedule time for self-care.
At some point, we must realize that we are unkind to our psyches and, there is a dire cost for that. When we do not strike a balance between work and rest, anxiety and panic become the norm.
History.
I love looking at historical links between ideologies. Rest was not a thing that my ancestors were entitled to; it was luxury. They were only allowed to retire to their quarters after sundown when their tasks were complete. Even then, many did not rest; they had to prepare for the next day. In many ways, we inherited that mentality. We work ourselves to the ground without realizing it. My ancestors dreamed of rest. Some of them probably could not even afford to dream that dream. Hence the reason, rest is valuable. Hence the reason, I take rest seriously.
What does rest look like to you?
I have to admit that moving from "hustle" to rest was no easy task. It takes a lot of rewiring. Rest looks like anything that has nothing to do with earning. I love going for morning walks and enjoying nature. Rest can look like me sitting on the beach watching the sunset. It can also look like me canceling plans to go home to cook a meal with my family. Rest can look like me on my couch reading one of the books I bought years ago but never got the time to read. It can look like me going for late-night drives with friends. Rest can look like brunch, a day at the spa, or me running a bath. Rest does not have to be expensive. It has to be intentional.
What does rest look like to you?
I would love to hear in the comments.
You can follow @thenapministry on Instagram for more infographics on the rest.
https://www.instagram.com/thenapministry/?hl=en
Affirmation:
Inhale:
I am deserving of rest.
Exhale:
I do not have to work myself to the ground.
I love the last part. Rest doesn't have to be expensive, it has to be intentional. That's more than correct. I really love it here. Continue to inspire me and others
ReplyDeleteThat's right. Happy to help you re-define rest.
DeleteThank you for always showing up. :-)
"Rest does not have to be expensive. It has to be intentional." This one was written for me. We have been beaten into believing that to rest is inviting laziness; to be unproductive. Why rest when there is work to do? So we do beat ourselves into the ground. Even when our bodies start fighting back, we make excuses and not realizing that it is rest our bodies are asking for. Today, I will be intentional in my rest. As a matter of fact, the dishes can wait. I'm about to read a book! Thank you love for always giving such good pieces. I love you so much.
ReplyDeleteThat's so true! May we keep re-defining rest. Love to hear it. Thank you for always showing up, my love. :) :)
DeleteI love this. You know these days people find significance in being busy. If you are busy, it means you are important and you are "getting things done". Rest is such a big part of being productive. I'm still learning. This was a summer of rest and some days I felt bad for doing nothing and needed to remind myself that I am rejuvenating. This is important. We all need to learn the healthy balance between work and rest.
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing.
Most definitely. You're welcome. Thank you for showing up.
DeleteI love this! Rest is valuable; doesn't have to be expensive but intentional. Too many of us work ourselves to the bone thinking it to be impressive, while slowly wearing our bodies out. To rest is to rejuvenate, reinvent and refire ourselves. It is not criminal to rest, and spend time with oneself, it's necessary. Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteSo true. I love that "It is not criminal to rest..." Thank you for reading.
ReplyDelete😕 this speaks to me so directly that I'm now wondering what is wrong with me. Rest to me normally meant retreating to 1 of my hobbies to clear my mine. But I just realized that most of my hobbies are actually lesser forms of work. Sitting here tonight and my entire tomorrow is already planned if the creator permits. All of those plans include my job, things I have to do for others, and personal projects that I need to complete. 😔 Thanks for this eye opener.
ReplyDeleteYou are not alone. I just keep reminding myself that it has to be intentional.
ReplyDeleteYou're welcome.
That's very true. The most intriguing part is giving the incite of our ancestors which we have overlooked. . As you said, "rest is a luxury", and it definitely creates memories to look back on. Time passes by so quickly we need balance between work and rest. We were taught to live life by working excessively make you productive/ambitious, but if work is left behind that brand us as lazy.......i commend for such work. I am happy my hobbie read this piece because he is a "workaholic", and never listens when i ask him to rest..... Rest for it is wealthy......
ReplyDeleteThank you for reading!
DeleteYou are so right! We are afraid of being seen as "lazy" and many of us work ourselves to the death. But life is about balance. We must work but we have to rest.
I hope he listens to you now.
And now I feel I owe it to myself to rest! Too long we've been like slaves, working too hard for what we think we want or need, then not being able to enjoy it because we are tired. Thanks Nella! New mindset!
ReplyDeleteFor too long...
DeleteMay we dare to change the narrative about rest.
Thank you for showing up.