The Rest Rebellion

In this day and age, prioritizing rest and recovery time is a rebellious act. And I'm armed with my pillow and declaring a rest rebellion! I reject the notion that it's normal or should be celebrated to work ourselves just to the brink of burn out.

Humans evolved to strive then rest - strive then rest. It’s the cycle of all natural creatures. Somewhere along the line, certain humans must have wanted to rest more than they wanted to strive so they greedily and often viciously amassed resources. By holding these resources hostage, they coerced and continue to coerce other humans to abandon their nature and become tools of their bidding. I say a resounding F-that!

On the surface, we may be able to function with little to no quality rest. But our bodies, our minds, our spirits, our relationships take the brunt. Something has to give, so why not give ourselves permission to rest instead of life taking its toll on us?

That’s tricky to navigate for me and I imagine most adults. Because along with work and a whole host of life responsibilities, there are no shortages of birthdays, holidays, weddings, concerts, art shows, and the like. I feel blessed to be included in the major life events of so many loved ones. I want to be there for them and with them. But it’s impossible to attend them all. And if I tried, exhaustion would keep me from being present enough to enjoy them in the first place.

So before taking anything more on my plate, I look at what I have on it already. If it’s covered in a shmorgishborg of life's duties and delights, I have to decline.

It's the precious times where I have manage to actually clear my plate, that I feel the twinges of guilt for declining. But a major part of this rebellion is giving myself permission to rest. Because even if my plate is licked clean, I may be full and my body/mind/spirit needs time to digest all that goodness. It's not selfish, it's self-love--there's a difference.

So I say onto all those who are ready to get back to the natural rhythm of life-- jump in your jammies and join me in the rest rebellion! <3 <3 <3