I'm musing a bit about 'rest' these days. Perhaps it's because I'm writing a final paper on the topic of Sabbath. The truth is, I'm writing about Sabbath because resting has been on my mind.
Here's an insight that I've been mulling over recently.
When I'm anxious about money, I have learned to seriously consider my own giving habits. In my experience, my points of highest anxiety around money are often connected to times when I have not 'kept up' with my intentions for giving and general generosity. So, my counter-intuitive response has become - I'm feeling anxious about money. It must be time to check the books and see how my giving's been lately. And sure enough, when I get 'on top of' my giving, so to speak, my anxiety tends to lessen. My money situation may not be different in actuality, but my perspective has been transformed. I shift from 'not enough' to 'more than enough'.
It's the same way with time. When I'm most anxious about time, I am learning to seriously consider my 'rest time'. How have I protected it? How have I maximized it? Perhaps I need to inject a bit more rest into my days. Perhaps I need to stretch it out, celebrate a bit more. And so even when - especially when - my 'to-do' list is incredibly long and heavy, I am learning to protect my rest time even more. Go to bed on time. Play a game. Get some perspective. Relax after 9 p.m. (my plan).
It's counter-intuitive. But it's transformative for me.
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2 comments:
"And sure enough, when I get 'on top of' my giving, so to speak, my anxiety tends to lessen. My money situation may not be different in actuality, but my perspective has been transformed."
That's a strange phenomenon. It is true, but it also takes effort to be confident in such a matter because a change in perspective is an event that can only be perceived accurately from somewhere outside your own perspective, which is a place you can never really be. It's like it requires another's perspective, which you cannot share but only take a word for.
This was good to read, thanks.
Thats an interesting thought. I wonder about the opposite of rest. Could it be that when one feels lethargic, one should really go out for a jog?
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