Taking time out to Rest
Monday, March 29th, 2010
Nice article at Zen Habits about the Lost Practice of Resting One day each Week
…when you ask most people in today’s frenzied culture if they consistetly set aside time for rest, they will tell you that they are just too busy to rest. Even fewer would say that they set aside any concentrated time (12-24 hours) for rest. There are just too many things to get done, too many demands, too many responsibilities, too many bills, and too much urgency. Nobody can afford to waste time resting in today’s results-oriented culture…. Read More.
It rightly points out the hectic life that people are living. Always running to get some results, where ‘enjoying the process’ becomes just another cliche which no one can afford.
The article further states some ways to rest and how the rest can enhance our lives.
If you live in a results-oriented culture where productivity alone is championed on every corner, rest is counter-cultural. And thus, the saying goes, “If you rest, you rust.” Rest may even be seen as a sign of weakness by others. Unfortunately, that view of humanity’s role in this world is shallow. It is true that many of the benefits from concentrated rest are not tangible; but then again, only a fool believes that all good things can be counted. Rabbi Elijah of Vilna once said, “What we create becomes meaningful to us only once we stop creating it and start to think about why we did so.” The implication is clear. We could live lives that produce countless widgets, but we won’t start living until we stop producing and start enjoying.
What do you think? How should we go about incorporating rest in our lives?
