Rest is not Idleness-Daily Meditation 4.28.23
Today’s quotation:
Rest is not idleness, and to lie sometimes on the grass on a summer day listening to the murmur of water, or watching the clouds float across the sky, is hardly a waste of time.-John Lubbock
Today’s Meditation:
I love to rest. I’ve had jobs that have kept me extremely busy–the Army comes to mind–during which time I had no time to rest. Now I love to rest, take naps, and recharge myself on days when I really need to kick back and take it easy. Rest time is precious because it helps me improve my work when I’m not resting. Sometimes the best advice we can ever get is to take some downtime and relax–but it’s very often that we ignore it, unfortunately.
We need rest, but we convince ourselves that we need to work more. We tell ourselves that we can’t rest because something “important” needs to be done, not keeping in mind the fact that rest is just as important as the vast majority of our tasks. And when we do rest, we often sit down somewhere boring for a few minutes until we’ve recovered a tiny bit, and then we get back to work. These mini-rests, though, don’t have nearly as many positive effects on our minds, spirits, or bodies as proper rest does.
Sometimes I must force myself to rest genuinely, and it’s always worth the effort. I go for a long walk–without any electronics present–and enjoy the day. I sit down with a book and a cup of coffee and read. Or I sit down with nothing at all and listen to some relaxing music, allowing myself to fall asleep and take a nap. When I’m done resting, I’m ready to do whatever I need to do, and I’m able to do it better because I’m able to focus better and stick with it longer.
I love to find beautiful places to rest, whether they be in a park or out in the woods, or near some water. Resting isn’t a luxury for me–it’s a necessity. It just feels like a luxury.
Questions to consider:
Why do so many people in our society view people who are taking a rest as being “lazy”?
How often do you stop and rest properly to restore your sense of balance?
What would life be like if we weren’t able to take rests?
For further thought:
Activity and rest are two vital aspects of life. To find a balance in them is a skill in itself. Wisdom is knowing when to have rest when to have activity, and how much of each to have. Finding them in each other–activity in rest and rest in activity–is the ultimate freedom.-Sri Sri Ravi Shankar
Celebrating Silence
If you missed yesterday’s Daily Meditation, it is right here.
