So glad you are here. Friday Five is all about being intentional about our mental health. 5 ideas, questions, tools, and resources to encourage you to lean in, care for yourself, and reset.
This week we are talking about the importance of rest. I am not referring to the need for a nap, although I realize that sleep can be an important part of rest. Rest mostly happens when we are awake. Here are some definitions of rest that I like from a quick google search:
“To cease work or movement in order to relax, refresh oneself, or recover strength.”
“An instance or period of relaxing or ceasing to engage in strenuous or stressful activity.”
The summer is the perfect time to assess our need for rest. School is out. Cottages, camping, and travel are booked. Hwy 400 on a Friday night suggests that people are seeking to get out of town and find rest. Except that rest is not necessarily what people get when they go to the cottage, the campsite, or the travel destination. If you have young kids, you know what I mean. I was joking with a client recently about the need to rename the family “holiday” a family “trip”. Having to care for, cook for, and entertain the family, all from an unfamiliar location, is not a “holiday”. It’s a trip. Important? Yes. Restful? Unlikely.
It is interesting where “rest” shows up. In reference to music, a rest is a pause. In music theory, “a rest refers to an interval of time that a player is not sounding a note on their instrument. Music rests abound throughout all styles of music, contributing to memorable melodies and rhythms” (Masterclass, 2020). To make beautiful music, rests are necessary.
In reference to exercise, a “rest day” is recommended to allow the body’s muscles to recover from the damage they have done during training to allow the muscles to grow (Ball, 2020). We become physically stronger when we give our bodies time to rest and recover after a workout.
In reference to work, an extended “rest” can be called a sabbatical. This involves a pause from regular work responsibilities to allow for writing, inner work, the learning of new skills, and rest (betterup.com). Interestingly, the concept of the sabbatical has Biblical origins, where Jews in the land of Israel were required to take a year-long break from working the fields every seven years (Wikipedia). Evidently, rest is important even in agriculture.
Are you in a season where you need to consider implementing some additional rest into your schedule? If so, you may need to get creative in order to make that happen. What responsibilities do you have that you can release for a season, even if that season is very time limited? Who in your community can support you to make that happen? Asking for what you need is important here. Your ‘people’ do not mind read. We all need rest, and some seasons of life require more of it. Make the time, and schedule it in your calendar.
If you are ready to incorporate a period of rest into your schedule, also consider some things that can help you relax and restore. Generally speaking, consider incorporating time alone and with others. For more ideas on this, see the Friday Five: What’s On Your Playlist.
Speaking of rest, Friday Five will be taking a short summer sabbatical and will return in September. In the meantime, consider taking some breaks away from work, cellphones, and the digital world. If you would like a Friday Five in August, consider rereading one of the archived ones in Substack.
See you in September!
Michele
