Fresh Snow on the Peaks
Wisdom is knowing when to have rest, when to have activity, and how much of each to have. Sri Sri Ravi Shankar
It's very important that we re-learn the art of resting and relaxing. Not only does it help prevent the onset of many illnesses that develop through chronic tension and worrying; it allows us to clear our minds, focus, and find creative solutions to problems. Thich Nhat Hanh
I woke one morning this week after a good sleep with an acronym for rest:
Rest
Elevates
Self-
Trust
The message was clear, as if a printed card had been taped to my bathroom mirror. It resonated deeply as rest is a key ingredient in how I design my life during the cold, inward winter months. I was aware that my rest has looked different this winter: fewer naps during the day and longer periods of sleep at night. ‘Am I getting the rest that I need?’, I wondered.
The question seems on target, aligned with my strong sense that self-trust is needed now more than ever to navigate our changing world, a world which some have declared is ‘post truth’. In a world where ‘alternative facts’ vie with ‘just the facts, ma’am’ who among us doesn’t wonder what’s the truth? What’s accurate? When I’m rested, my craving for accuracy and knowing gives way to resonance, an inner sense that I am ongoingly learning to trust.
The message was also timely, arriving while I was providing background support for a group of college students who had come to Crestone for a short retreat. A return trip for most, they had planned quite an agenda for their short time here. I learned from their faculty advisor that at some point, as if tapping into the wisdom that Sri Sri Ravi Shankar speaks of, they realized what they needed most was rest. Recognizing that the pressures of their intense courses of study, health challenges experienced by some, along with the ups, downs, and stresses of life on the planet had drained them, they spoke their truth and they honored it as their time here unfolded.
When you rest, you catch your breath and it holds you up, like water wings… Anne Lamott
We need not just the rest that comes with sleep, though that’s important, but the restoration called forth by relaxing, creating and playing with others, communing with Nature. We need the rest of daydreaming, of settling in with a good book and letting ourselves doze. We need breaks from technology and the addictive power of our devices. We need to put on our water wings and float.
We need this kind of deep rest, not to make sense of the world as it is (I gave that up long ago) but to navigate that world as a we create a more beautiful one. We need rest to give us the strength to make choices that support our health and well-being individually, collectively, and for all of life. We need the clarity and focus that comes with rest to discover what resonates as true for me and to honor that what resonates for me may not be resonate with you, but that both can (and must) coexist in a world where our differences held in love are the strengths from which the ultimate truth of unity arises from the ashes of conflict.
Let’s rest in that!
Another Storm Building …