Rest

In a previous blog post I gave several tips on how to "Live a Balanced Life."

As I have pondered this, I think the hardest for me is number 7 - giving myself permission to relax. I have a very hard time with this. Like most of society I am programmed that if I am not doing 'something' I am wasting time. Take now for instance, I have nothing that I have to do tonight. Yet here I am posting in my blog...I have an incessant need to feel productive.

Even if I am doing something that I am not sure many people will find useful. Something that is only useful to myself, I have to do it. I can only sit and do nothing for so long without feeling like I am being lazy. Which is something I need to work on.

I know the pitfalls of always being active and never having any down time. I understand why rest is important. But it is a hard to do.

The Jewish people have a concept of a Sabbath rest. This is basically taking one day in seven away from work, away from the chores of life and just resting. This is based upon the fact that God created all of creation in six days and on the seventh He "rested" from His labor (See Genesis 2:1-3).

I am beginning to believe that there is something in this. For the Jewish people there are many spiritual and physical benefits related to the Sabbath, but I am seriously beginning to see a benefit to this. Taking one day of the week, to basically hit the 'reset' button on life.

Farmers will even let their fields "rest" by not planting them for a season and letting them return to seed. This, depending on the crop, greatly improves the quality of the future crops.

So I will encourage you as I encourage myself. To find time to rest and relax. To allow yourself time to be unproductive. To not feel the need to fill every moment of everyday with a project, goal or work.