Some people think that if they rest, it’s a sign of weakness, or laziness, or failure. Nothing could be further from the truth. Rest is essential, a kind of elixir of life.
Of course, there are lazy people out there, just as there are people of every other kind, in our vast kaleidoscope of human characteristics. But in my experience almost all of us just don’t rest enough.
Maybe it’s a cultural thing: the frantic pace of modern life; the way the world has been made small, and far more complicated, by technology and the consumerist urge, with everything available, or almost available, all of the time – to many of us in ‘The West’, at least. And these cultural norms perhaps feed into our materialistic, acquisitive urges, resulting in a situation where we do too much, and rest too little.
The benefits of rest, described clearly in Dr Matthew Walker’s book, ‘Why We Sleep’, include boosting our mental, emotional and physical health and capabilities – in brief, we all need 7-8 hours of sleep per night in order to function well, live long and prosper. Most of us may not understand the science of sleep in the way that Matthew Walker does, but we do know that rest benefits us; by and large, we just don’t act on this knowledge. Or we don’t act sufficiently.
Maybe we could make a start this Christmas? By slowing down. By doing less, more thoughtfully. Aiming for a full 8 hours of sleep at night. A short nap in the afternoon, too, if we can manage that. Paying less attention to the incessant cacophony of the internet juggernaut, especially the social media circus. And instead doing plenty of talking, and singing, and slow-eating, and musing and reading and listening to music. And doing nothing. Maybe if I keep going, it will act as a restful soporific…
Rest: Really Essential Slow Time.
‘Slow down, you move too fast. You got to make the morning last…’
The 59th Street Bridge Song (Feelin’ Groovy), Simon and Garfunkel
