The invitation to rest

Last week, I took a day off and participated in a workshop entitled: A Day of Rest. The workshop was focused on how we allow ourselves or don’t allow ourselves to rest in our lives. The concept of rest was not related to sleep, but rather to a state of being and not doing. It used the notion of the Sabbath as the focal point. Traditionally, the Sabbath is a day of rest, a time out from being productive and a time to restore ourselves. The ideas of  Wayne Muller were incorporated into the workshop. In an article on the importance of returning to the practice of the Sabbath, Muller says:

Because we do not rest, we lose our way. We miss the compass points that show us where to go. We lose the nourishment that gives us succor. We miss the quiet that gives us wisdom. Poisoned by the hypnotic belief that good things come only through tireless effort, we never truly rest. And for want of rest, our lives are in danger.

I have come to realize that I need to re-learn how to rest. Somehow, I have lost my way. Perhaps it goes as far back as childhood, when I was always being called on to help around the house. The idea of sitting around and doing nothing was never allowed. We always had to be helping and productive.

This workshop was poignant for me because in the midst of my sleeping disorder and struggle with insomnia for the past two years, I have had to face my relationship to rest. It’s hard for me to accept rest, when I am craving sleeping. It’s hard for me to accept rest, when I have such little free time to pursue my own interests outside of work. There’s a tension for me with my time, and in truth, I am craving more time for myself and my own interests. And now, I am facing the truth of having limited energy because of my sleep disorder, which is tough to deal with. Where does this leave me, I wonder?

The idea of rest is compelling, because I am tired, but Muller is inviting me into a deeper relationship with rest, a spiritual relationship. For the Sabbath is a spiritual tradition. It is a day to honor and remember our relationship to the Divine. It’s about letting go of my agenda, my need to be productive, and to allow for a different sense of time, a time that is not defined by accomplishing everything on my to-do list. It’s even about letting go of my exhaustion and my craving for more sleep.

Can we allow ourselves to enter into sacred rest?