Real Rest || Simple Ways to Infuse Your Day with Rest
It’s snowing today. The day after Labor Day. It’s as if Colorado looked at 2020 and laughed, scoffing that we’ll wear as much white after Labor Day as we want to because we threw out the playbook a long time ago. Jokes aside, this year does seem that way, doesn’t it? A year of unknowns has hit us all in ways we couldn’t have foreseen and, I think, we’re all tired.
Rest is a concept that we all have unique relationships with but I think in the year of so much mental, physical, and societal unrest, that getting cozy with the term is more important than ever. The problem is, rest, even when we’re stuck at home, doesn’t come easily for many of us.
We’re not taught to rest, you see.
We’re taught to hustle. We’re taught to work towards something, or nothing, just don’t stop. We’re told our achievements don’t matter unless they were won through blood, sweat, and tears. We’re told rest is the parallel to laziness.
There have been entire movements and products and hashtags created to inspire rest, because, you see, we all know we’re tired. But are they effective in inspiring rest? I don’t think so. We can #selfcare ourselves to sleep or buy that face mask that promises to help you feel relaxed or sign up for meditation apps, but if we don’t fix what is fundamentally broken about our approach to rest, I don’t think we’ll get very far. Chances are, our attempts at rest will leave us feeling more tired, with a longer to-do list, and maybe a freshly cleansed face.
Rest is deeper than #selfcare. Real rest, as I’m calling it for lack of a better, less Spiritual term, is a ritual, a habit, something we have to unlearn and relearn and adjust daily. Rest isn’t distraction from reality. Rest isn’t detatching or falling sleeping (although it can be) or an event. No, rest must be interwoven into our everyday’s for it to do any real good. Rest must go hand in hand with work, with the hustle. My hope is that this list, expansive as it is, will show you that no matter where you work or how you spend your days, rest can be interspersed in between busy moments. How else, with all the hats we wear and all of the “fullness of our hands”, will we be able to get real rest?
Sincerely,
Your resident Enneagram 9, who happens to enjoy resting quite a lot.
Sit down on the floor and stretch your lower back for five minutes
Make a cup of coffee or tea manually (no coffee pot!) without your phone near by
Light a candle and place it on a space you recently cleaned as a reminder to slow down and enjoy your work
Take a morning bath instead of a shower
Take a nap, just because. You don’t have to “earn” feeling tired
Read a book without trying to learn something new
Go to a cafe and listen to the sounds around you
Journal about something or someone that inspires you
Cancel one thing on your to-do list
Maybe just one more…
Give yourself a massage
Tell the kids no, just this once, and hide in your room for five minutes
Dim the lights
Go on a walk around your block — slowly — notice something you haven’t before
Sit in silence the next time you drive somewhere
Get outside and just be, even if it’s your backyard
Cook your favorite meal and savor the process of nourishing your body
Watch your favorite childhood movie
Take five deep breaths
Wear clothes that make you feel g o o d and cozy. Bonus points if they’re fair trade/organic socks, like my favorites from Conscious Step
Go to bed early and get a full 8 hours
Sit on your porch and stargaze (or, if you can’t see the stars, go on an evening drive)
Listen to the sound of the waves, or the wind, or rain
Make a smoothie and then sit down and drink it all without multitasking
Call a friend
Or, if conversations aren’t restful, write a letter
Turn off notifications on your phone for things that don’t matter
Go to the grocery store alone and listen to a podcast while you shop
Don’t overcommit your schedule
Ask for help instead of trying to do everything yourself
Practice monotasking
Make a list of your priorities for the day
Talk to your kids about rest and be aware of when you glorify being busy around them
Drink water before your coffee — sit still while you drink a full glass
Have daily accountability with your partner about rest — check in, rest together
*This post is part of a longterm partnership with Conscious Step. All opinions and creative direction are my own.*
