The counter-intuitive Nature of Rest

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.