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(512) 416-7700 | CONTACT US | MAP
“I’ll rest when I die.”
“I have too much to do to waste my time sleeping.”
“I’m so busy – where do people find the time.”
“I can’t be lazy – I must do something productive with my time.”
Does this sound familiar? These thoughts are pervasive in our society among all age groups. We live busy lives, we move faster, we produce more, and we work, work, work. These ideas are so fundamental we often align our productivity with a sense of self worth.
The truth is these ideas are at the root of our sense of someone else’s worth. Our sense of self worth is so often calculated from what others think of us based on what we give to them. What about what we are worth to ourselves? What will we give to ourselves? Rest is work we do for ourselves.
We have a certain amount of energy/vital force available for work. We can use this energy for thinking, for muscular activity, or for internal restructuring and neural integration (the function of sleep and rest). When we rest we are building a more sound and stable internal structure to think and move from.
Rest is work in our fast paced lives. It is hard to etch out time to work for yourself (rest). It takes dedication. For those of us who don’t like feeling lazy know that as long as we are alive we are working. Who and what are we working for is the real question.
Rest helps us: heal, reduce the stress we feel, keep our mind clear and able to focus, be more productive, be in a better mood. It has a positive effect on: our mind, our immunity, our gut, our skin, our whole body.
Making time for ourselves to be still daily (even just 5 minutes), taking breaks from thoughtful and muscular work a couple times a day (even just 15 minutes each time), getting restful sleep nightly, and taking extended periods of rest at least a couple times a year adds immeasurably to our sense of wellbeing.
Take a little time on for yourself. You’ll be amazed how much better you’ll feel and how much more you’ll have to give when your body receives the benefits of enough rest.
