Rest is undoubtedly huge. Not just for me. For all of us. It keeps us going. Revives us. Quenches our thirst. Rescues us.
Finding chunks of time to leave your normal environment and take refuge, unplug, escape...that's glorious.
But it's obviously not always an option. And after all, escape is the easy route. Is it not?
We are revived, refreshed, and refueled in those times. Yes, we are. But we are certainly not pushed. Resting in these places and under those circumstances is...
EASY
It doesn't require great strength. Determination. Hard work. Struggle.
It comes...naturally.
And so, while it is helpful, it does not teach us much. Other than "You need to find more time to escape," or "Your life is just too much," or "You need to take a break."
But those are things we already knew. Those are the reasons why we sought an escape in the first place.
It doesn't grow us. Stretch us. Pull us. Test us. Or improve us.
I have been struggling merely two days after writing my post about rest to transform my thoughts into reality.
I've been missing the quiet getaway already. I am still on Spring Break. But back in my natural habitat. Where my perfectionism kicks in and thrives. Where my brain immediately thinks...okay, let's make a list. What has to be done? When? In what order?
Work related responsibilities have already kicked back into high gear. Deadlines are looming. Tasks are waiting. Things are...urgent. Pressing. Important.
And this morning, sitting at Bagel Time, my favorite local bagel joint, sipping hot coffee and chomping down on my bagel...I sunk right back into it all.
My journal was right there on the tale. Along with my favorite Sharpee pen. And the book that I had been so excited to start reading, but have yet to continue reading since finishing Chapter One.
But I caved. I fell back into chaos mode. I opened my computer and typed away at the speed of light. Email after email. Consumed by the deadlines. And the urgent need to meet them.
Even now, as I write in my new sketchbook...I hear the buzzings of all my Apple products, screaming at me, "You've got an important email. It's about our urgent need to purchase plane tickets. Read it. NOW!" I look over. And I want to click to open it up and read...
And so I did.
It is now nearly 9pm. I stopped journaling around 2:30, right after that ellipses up there. Why? Because, well, duty called!
Crisis management tendencies kicked in. Perfectionism rushed in. Obedience and high performance conquered my mind.
Now, this task I was working on was actually something incredibly important that did in reality have to get done. And as an employee, whose job description includes trip planning, taking care of travel arrangements for eXile's trip to Congo was my responsibility. Absolutely.
In the middle of Spring Break...
In the midst of journaling...
But
That
Is
Life.
We all have responsibilities. Obligations. Deadlines. Duty calls. And we have to respond. Chaos conquers. Yet we have to defeat it.
Dealing with the day to day stress, responding to those crises, meeting those deadlines...those things build us if we allow ourselves to work hard enough to find peace within these moments.
Escaping is utterly tantalizing.
But escaping is also...
We have to learn to find rest in these cluttered days. Comfort in the craziness. Peace in the chaos.
It is tough. Beyond tough, really. It requires way more of us than getting away and unplugging ever does.
Yet in making those efforts and strives
In looking for peace
Harnessing the quiet
Grabbing the rest
All when it seems impossible
When it feels like we are crumbling at the pressure
Drowning in the noise
Disappearing in the chaos
We are STRETCHED. Pressed. Pulled. Strengthened.
We grow.
And we learn.
And we then possess the power to create peace in any moment. To pause at any time. To find rest in any location.
We become both RESILIENT and POWERFUL.
And that is worth not taking the easy route. More than worth it in my opinion.
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