Something I am learning

Rest is not inactivity. Rest does not mean to sit and do nothing. I am finding that rest can mean cooking dinner and cleaning up afterwards so tomorrow is a clean slate. Or rest might be scooping the cat box today so that tomorrow isn’t worse. I think rest can be a fluid thing, depending on your circumstances. I think I always had an aversion to rest because it meant I was not being productive. My parents required productivity constantly. If you were not productive, you were lazy. Therefore, rest equaled laziness. Now that I feel a clearer headspace, now that my job affords me time to actually take care of myself, I realize rest is a collection of actions taken to take care of yourself. It’s all a cycle. Not everything has to be done today, but we can move forward with each day with an idea of what we can do to better care for ourselves. We don’t do things for the sake of being productive in case someone is watching and might judge us. No. We do things because they are needed and necessary to care for ourselves. And recognizing when we need to stop and slow down. Taking action can be reframing our expectations, trying a different method because our bodies are changing, going to bed earlier because we need sleep, etc. Rest does not mean inactivity. It means proactive steps towards a healthier and more whole lifestyle. Lindsey Heatherly