Rest
What is rest?
Is it a pause in time? No, time presses on even while we rest.
Is it an idle state of being? No, though we aren't consciously working, the body uses that time to rejuvenate itself from a hard days work.
I am not sure whether Western culture understands or even values this concept of rest being a moment for the body to relax, restore, and rejuvenate itself. For me, at least, this is a difficult concept to ascertain given where I live. Motivational speakers in business encourage people to get up before dawn to work on projects, work all day, and burn the midnight oil as a means to accomplish a goal.
In track I grew up hearing, " while you are sleeping, other people are working. While you are on holiday celebrating, other people are working. The person who wins is the one who put in the most time, energy, and work." Rest in both instances is not an option, especially if you are type A, goal oriented, driven, pressured by family, time, or society, and born into a society governed by industrialism. Progress, in this regard, comes with a price.
So I work and work and work and find myself breaking down physically, mentally, and spiritually because of the lack of rest. A life of imbalance.
Yet I, like most Americans, press on. In so doing, we are seen as productive (or a little nuts lol)!
Our suffering is viewed as sacrificial, noble, moral (Christian) for putting in so much work especially if our work contributes to society or is voluntary.
Ridiculous? Yes.
Frustrating? Yes.
Illogical? Yes.
Rest, however, does not seem to be woven into the fabric of America. How do you survive in a society that undervalues rest and overvalues production?
