On The Seventh Day, She Rested

Remember when the world started opening up again after the pandemic? I was one of the few who genuinely wasn’t ready and didn’t want things to ‘go back to normal’. There had been something quiet and comfortable about less people and no expectations to go anywhere or do anything. It allowed a collective breath (no pun intended – although the irony is not lost), a reset, an unwind.

I was in the group of people still expected to go to work, of course. The hospitals didn’t close. Women never stopped having babies. Emergencies still occurred. And, there was a stillness, a respite from the customary chaotic grind. But, not right away. The very beginning was filled with so much fear and nervous system activation, it was difficult to see the space. I was terrified for my little boy, my mama, and those closest to me. The space, though, began to open up as the fear lessened and the body was, again, allowed to breathe.

It was the start of one of the biggest lessons I’m still working to embody. The lesson of rest.

Most of us have been conditioned to believe ‘we must work hard’. ‘Hard work is honorable’. ‘You can’t make money without working hard’. None of those things are actually true, although we still have judgement around ourself and others when we perceive someone as indolent. The whole culture of medicine is built around a paradigm that glorifies endless days and sleepless nights – the absolute antithesis of what contributes to a healthy body, mind, and spirit. Even when we’re not at work, we have a hard time letting go of the endless list of tasks.

We derive importance and worth from our productivity, but what we fail to understand is the only way to truly get ahead is to actually slow down.

Ultimately, we busy ourselves to stay one step ahead of feeling.

What would happen if we slowed down? Many of us believe that everything would fall apart. It would be pandemonium. We feel pressured to maintain a certain level of movement, and most of the time that movement isn’t getting us any closer to where we want to be. It’s actually keeping us just far enough away from our insides that we never acknowledge our authenticity.

Brene Brown says:

“Busy is a great armor. It’s a great way for numbing. What a lot of us do is stay so busy and so out in front of our life, that the truth of how we’re feeling and what we really need can’t catch up with us.”

We’ve learned, partly from the pandemic, that we need creative space to rest, iterate, and ideate. We can’t do these things if we’re always busy.

Rest is different for everyone. We all have to discover what it means for us. Rest is not necessarily sitting in front of the television or scrolling endlessly on Instagram. This is many times buffering and will keep us just as far out of feeling as overworking.  Rest is sleep and reflection. Rest is a walk in nature. Rest is presence with the people around us. Rest is allowing ourselves time to feel what’s inside and making the decision to listen.

You’d think we’d all be prioritizing such sweet splendor as soon as we grasp the benefits it brings to our life. Well, not really… because resting is not as easy as it sounds.

Making the decision to prioritize rest is just that- a decision. It doesn’t feel comfortable at first. It resembles the nervous system activation of the early pandemic. We must stay long enough to quiet the fear, long enough to feel the hard feelings and move through them.

“Rest isn’t a reward for work; it’s part of the work.”

There is nothing wrong with hard work. I love working in a space that lights me up and adds value to the world.

Rest, though, is where clarity is realized and dreams are birthed. It’s not a luxury. It’s a necessity.

You are worth moving through the discomfort to find the treasures rest has waiting for you.

Rest. Breathe. Reflect.

All my love,

Coach g