What does it mean to truly rest?
I am writing this whilst laid up at home nursing a sore throat and without a voice. It is forcing me to rest.
I am not happy about it. I am having an internal battle: the part of me that loves a little cat nap and duvet afternoon is delighted… :) But the taskmaster is telling me “you NEED to have more to show for your week!”
So, time to practice what I guide others to do. Less battling, more befriending these internal parts :)
The fact is, in our culture, it is HARD TO REST. We are trained to be productive, to accomplish, to succeed. And to measure our self-worth against it.
For the past few weeks I have been participating in a retreat called Soul Care: A Circle of Trust Series Challenging Grind Culture. Created and facilitated by Cat Greenstreet, grounded in the work of Parker Palmer’s circles of trust and renewal, we are gathering together bi-weekly to slow down and explore different ways of being in the world and working that challenges pre-conceived notions of productivity.
A large part is devoted to reflection, usually guided by poetry (being a ‘third thing’ ) and creating space to be heard and to listen to our own inner teacher.
It has paved the way for me to gain clarity about what matters to me in my work, and how I want to show up. It has been incredibly nourishing for the soul.
It is helping me today, with my enforced rest, that I just want to push through. Yes, I am writing this. But in a very relaxed ‘it doesn’t need to get done’ kind of way… it is supporting me, rather than depleting my energy and resources. It feels like self-care rather than grinding it out.
Granted, sometimes we have tasks that do not entirely light us up, that just need to get done. But how can we allow ourselves to weave rest into our work more often?
During one of the retreats we were introduced to the work of Tricia Hersey, a multidisciplinary artist, writer, theologian, and community organiser, who is releasing a book this month called Rest Is Resistance: A Manifesto. She created The Nap Ministry, “an organisation that believes rest is a form of resistance and reparations.” You can read her article ”To Transform Work, We Must Rest,” here. It is thought-provoking and inspiring stuff.
To rest doesn’t always mean sleeping. Though it can be. Which works for me :) But it can also mean day-dreaming, sitting in silence. And it is about more than the act of resting in itself. As she puts it: “To sky-gaze, stare off, or sit in the silence of your own mind is a radical act of resistance in a culture that wants you working and accomplishing tasks 24/7.”
So come on dear friends. Let’s give ourselves permission to rest more. As an act of resistance to the capitalist, patriarchal culture that we have been conditioned to believe is the only way to be. It is time to change the story of our lives. Of our culture. Of the way that we work.
One nap at a time.
Wishing you a beautiful, restful weekend.
Elle xo
