rest

Relaxation is an artform.

This dog has it down.

I’m taking part in the Summer Dream Lab by MondoBeyondo beloveds Jen Lemen and Andrea Scher. It is all about the importance of rest and play and kindness.

I’ve written about this on my other blog, how hard it is to let myself rest when I need to, no strings attached. Don’t me wrong, I’m great at sitting still, but resting is more than stillness. My brain roars and races, my shoulds kick in, I assess my surroundings with critical eyes (should clean, should should should), and it is not a restful state, my kind of stillness.

A recent hour and pay cut at work and I am free on fridays. I imagined I could fill them with art, creativity, writing… but instead, I find myself in need of Being Productive. if I divert my attention from working to find work, I feel like I am not doing what I should.

I think one of the most frustating things is that I Do know the value of resting- I know how important it is to recharge, to even redirect energies for a while, to let something go for a while.

Resting can be literal– physically resting, but for me it is also about letting things be.  It is about walking away from the problem or challenge that is consuming me. And how many of us has found the solution halfway up a mountainside? Or on our way to the water cooler?  Or once we decide to take a break?

So– let me state my gentle intention: to learn to allow myself to rest, including giving myself permission to let something rest for a while, a challenge, or fear, or frenzied goal… just put it down and let it be.

I bet it will still be there when I am ready. And, sometimes, maybe it will have started to solve itself. No matter what, I know I will benefit from a different kind of braintime.

How about you? Are you good at taking time to rest?  Can you give yourself permission?

Fabulous bulldog images used with gratitude and by permission by my dear friend and talented photographer,  Justin Cross.