Hold Up, Wait a Minute!

Honoring the resting period is something we often forget, avoid, or wait until it’s too late to do.

But resting is one of the most important things we can do for ourselves and our physical, mental, and emotional well-being. The time of rest is when the body repairs itself, and the mind stops its incessant chatter for a moment, and we sink into a state of unconscious peace.

We also fight this tooth and nail because we are conditioned to believe that “rest” takes us away from the persistent hustle culture we live in, and may even give us a little guilt when we try to take some much needed time to ourselves.

We’ve all heard the statement If you don’t make time for your wellness, you’ll be forced to make time for your illness. 

Words of truth, for sure.

As modern day humans, we seem bound to this construct called “time”, and there never seems to be enough of it for most of us. We think there isn’t time to rest, and we push on through, usually to the point where we do end up getting sick, forcing us to stop (in the name of love).

All joking aside, it is the love that forces us to stop. Love for ourselves. Love for our health. Love from the universe — which assists us all too happily when we aren’t listening to the cues from our body (there’s a reason we feel tired or run down).

Honoring this time of rest isn’t selfish, it’s necessary. Taking time off doesn’t mean the world will stop, you’ll lose out on something (can we please stop with the FOMO already), or your to-do list will triple in size. It means that you’ll be able to come back to it all with a clear head, more energy, and perhaps even a new creative solution to a challenge you’ve been working on.

If you’re someone who’s super busy with your career, family, and activities, schedule some time for yourself to rest, especially if you don’t get enough sleep in the first place. 

Send the kids off, put the phone down, and take a nap, take a bath, read a book, meditate, or lay in the grass and look at the clouds. Do whatever you want for the time allotted that brings you back to a state of calm.

It’s never impossible to carve out some time to step back from the wild jungle that is life, you just have to be decisive about it and keep your appointment with yourself, just like you would if you were going to see the dentist.

You don’t need to deserve time off. It is required of you to take care of yourself. If you’re not in a good place for yourself, you can’t be there for anyone else. You know, no pouring from an empty cup and all that.

How about this — just for today take 30 minutes for yourself to rest. Whatever “rest” looks like for you is just perfect. And don’t you dare feel bad about it.

You are valuable. You are important. And you need to take care of yourself so that you can shine your light and share your gifts with the world. The world needs you more than you think.

And if you need some assistance along the way, here at the Barn we offer monthly Self-Care Saturdays where you can come in for mini sessions with our practitioners and friends. We offer 15 minute healings, readings, massage, and more for only $20. July 23rd is our next date, so come by from 11-4 and take a break to reset. 

Written by Katie Cavenagh, Energy Alignment Specialist & Wordsmith. Find more at FeelYourLight.com/blog and https://katiecavenagh.medium.com/