2016 was a big year for me on a lot of levels.
In my business I began two teacher training-programs and made my first foray into offering international retreats … plus I found myself dealing with some unexpected and challenging health stuff. And of course I was immersed in the highly stressful and world-wide political and social issues that impacted everyone on the PLANET. Which took way more out of me than I even realized until the year ended.
The upshot of all of this is here I am at the beginning of 2017 and I am deep-in-the-bone TIRED!
I’ve been trying to do something different (for me) by simply honoring this tiredness. Which means I have been resting a LOT since I returned from Oaxaca in late December. I was OK with a week to maybe even 10 days of this resting thing. But here it is, the end of the first week in January and it seems like I’m not done yet.
I must admit that I have a rather conflicted relationship with rest.
I am blessed with an abundance of energy as well as a large dose of divine discontent. My Virgo nature is always looking at what needs to be improved and is relentlessly driven to make positive changes on all kinds of fronts. And there is SO much that needs to be done! Now … more than ever. Who in their right mind has TIME for rest??
I have struggled with the whole idea of rest because when I’m resting I’m not DOING anything. I’m not meeting some goal or being productive or getting high as I addictively check off one more thing on my ever expanding to-do list.
Like so many of us I have learned not to value rest.
I value accomplishment and making things happen. I value tangible results and goals being achieved. I value action. And movement. Excitement and the feeling of meaningful impact in the outer world.
Rest can frankly be kind of boring. Not to mention the tsunami of guilt that I have to navigate whenever I’m not proving my value by engaging once again in yet another heroic effort.
So I sneak rest in around the edges of my life.
I sleep at night and take a nap most days but compared to the energy I put OUT on a regular basis, these allowable times of rest are minimal at best.
I’ve known on an intellectual level that I need to incorporate more pure BEING time in my life, but I haven’t been motivated enough to actually put that knowing into real world practice.
However, I sprained my foot pretty badly while I was in Oaxaca which put a HUGE cramp in my mobility style. And on New Years Eve the hard drive in my computer crashed and burned. Which put another huge cramp in my hoped for work flow.
As much as I wanted to … and believe me I’ve tried… it’s been kind of hard …. although not impossible… to ignore these messages from the Universe to TAKE A BREAK!
I think the final straw was being gifted a Tarot reading by a lovely new friend which contained this message:
“I feel like I just can’t say it enough, the more you rest and honor the times you feel called to retreat and hibernate, the more expansive, prolific and successful you’ll be when spirit calls on you to be creative.” ~ Leah Kent
All RIGHT already… I get it. Or at least I think I do.
And I’m sharing this because I’m pretty sure that this message isn’t just for me.
As creative beings AND as people who deeply care about our families, friends, communities and the state of the world, we need to be reminded to fill the well on a regular basis. And to remember that rest allows us the space and the time to REALLY listen to our souls desires and deep intuitive wisdom.
Sometimes rest looks like making art and being creative. But at other times it can look like entering into that delicious place of a whole lot of nothing at all.
So give yourself the gift of some true downtime. Don’t be afraid to dive into that inner place of sacred stillness. And watch your soul and spirit breathe a great big sigh of relief.
One of my favorite ways to rest is by taking myself to an art and creativity retreat where I don’t have to cook or clean or even make the bed. Where I can sink down deeply into my own creative being and pay attention to my own rhythms. Where I can feed myself with my own creative expression.
And MY superpower is creating magical and restful retreat workshops in some of the most beautiful places in the world. If you’re ready for a sacred pause combined with creative soul nurturance, check out my retreat offerings here!
That is *so* me.
I crave rest (I don’t have that relentless energy you mention), but when I rest, I feel guilty. I end up writing a lot because it’s not exactly work, but I’m doing something useful. And then I wonder why I don’t feel rested after my “vacation”.
My work days are super long, because there’s always more work to do.
When I finally do take a break from everything, I don’t have the energy or will for art, because I drove myself to depletion. And then I feel guilty some more, because I’m not committed to art. Argh.
A retreat sounds wonderful. Someday, when my finances allow for it, I’ll take myself somewhere nice on a retreat.
And in the meantime, I need to learn how to rest at home :)