A Day of Rest
The ancient wisdom of resting one day a week is deeply rooted in good health practices and our natural rhythms.
Science also agrees that a day of rest is imperative for your body to heal and repair itself.
You need a day of rest every week from the responsibilities of your life to renew and recharge.
Reasons You Should Rest, Renew, Recharge
Allowing yourself a day of rest to renew and recharge is one of the most important ways you can take care of yourself.
You spend your days working hard and playing hard. I encourage you to unplug hard. As intense as your effort is 6 days a week, your rest day should be just as intense.
If your body is not given the time to restore and recharge, your immune system weakens and disease can set in. So taking a day of rest actually increases your life span!
The mind also needs to shift out of overdrive to a slower pace. If not, constant stress and exhaustion becomes hard to overcome. Depression is an epidemic and part of the reason is that we are constantly on the go.
Time off from busyness and work allows you to be more creative, calm, focused and productive when you get back at it.
Spiritually speaking, when you are constantly on the move, you don't give God the time or space to care for and lead you in His purpose. What your constant action is saying is that it's completely up to you to work for everything and you don't trust God's provision for your life.
This simply is not true.
You can rest in the fact that there is enough, you don't have to do it all and you are loved no matter what you do or don't do.
You can never earn it by running faster and faster on the treadmill of life.
Resting and trusting that you are completely loved with nothing you need to do to earn that love, is powerful beyond measure.
This is your true state of being and how you were meant to live.
Two Types of Rest
There are two types of rest - active and passive.
Active rest is your typical weekend activities - watching TV/Netflix, going for a walk, grocery shopping, coffee with a friend or morning yoga.
Passive rest is doing absolutely nothing. No laundry, no golf game, no cleaning the house, no going to the gym, no social media (gulp).
Allowing Time to Rest
So let me ask you, how many days of "passive rest" do you schedule into your week?
My bet is not one.
I get it. You're busy with work, the kids, your long to-do list that doesn't end but keeps growing.
But nothing is ever really done is it? There is always dirty clothes in the laundry hamper or dishes in the sink or bills to pay and papers to file.
That's life and it will never stop.
You will rarely experience a perfect moment in time when you feel truly able to take a day off. In spite of that, are you able to let go and give yourself one day of rest a week?
I mean real rest.
Rest that rejuvenates, restores and helps you recharge and be ready for the next week.
A Day of Rest
So what does a day of rest look like for you?
Maybe start the day by sleeping until you are done. Wake up naturally with no alarm and definitely no social media the minute you get up.
You could stay in bed with a mug of delicious coffee and read until you are completely lost in the story. Read until you feel sleepy and you need a nap. Aaaaaaahhh.
Take long, slow breaths and meditate. Pray. Be grateful and thankful.
Connect with nature. Walk slowly to notice not to exercise. Really feel the sun on your face, admire how blue the sky is and appreciate the sounds of the little creatures all around you.
Paint outside of the lines. Write without thinking about what you are writing. Sing out loud to your favourite song.
Honour the Sabbath and keep it Holy.
How Can I Help?
Is there chaos and clutter in your life preventing you from experiencing the freedom to take a day of rest?
I want to help you get to a place where you feel you can take one day a week to rest and not feel guilty or stressed or overwhelmed about it.
Leave a comment below and I will get back to you within 24-48 hours.
Let me help you find the freedom to live your life...well rested.
Here are a couple of additional articles you might find interesting.
Find your freedom.
Live your life.
Noreen