“What is without periods of rest will not endure.” —Ovid
Recently, I spent a few weeks on vacation. The time was filled with travel, reconnecting with family, playing golf, swimming, sleeping, and reading. As you can probably imagine, it was quite enjoyable. But more than that, it was desperately needed.
Consider the benefits that rest offers:
- a healthier body.
- more balance.
- less stress.
- deeper relationships.
- better opportunity to evaluate life’s direction.
- a new, fresh outlook.
- increased productivity.
Yet, despite all the proven benefits of rest, intentionally setting aside regular time for rest is a practice that has become undervalued and underappreciated in today’s culture. We have become overworked, overstressed, and exhausted. Yet, Sabbath (setting aside one day each week for rest) remains a dying practice that less and less people practice regularly (never mind the idea of actually taking a two-week vacation).
Overlooking the importance of rest is certainly not unique to our modern society. But our culture has made it increasingly difficult to take rest without specific intentionality.
Consider some of the factors prevalent in our modern society that argue against the idea of rest:
• Rest has become confused with laziness. We live in a society that praises those who work 60hrs/week and makes faulty assumptions about those who work 40. We have confused rest with laziness. And while too much rest may indeed be an indicator of sloth, the regular practice of finding rest is not.
• The desire for money has become unquenchable. Modern society loves money. We love it to a point that we will sacrifice much of ourselves to gain more of it. Some sacrifice morals, character, or family. Others consider rest a fair trade… and will gladly sacrifice it at the altar of the almighty dollar.
• Success is measured incorrectly. Similarly, we have begun to measure success by the amount of cash in savings, the size of our homes, or the model of our cars. The nicer one’s lot in life, the more successful they must be. Unfortunately, this is a faulty measure of success. The true test of success should be measured in significance rather than success. But often times finding significance requires us to rest long enough to recalibrate our lives around the things that matter most.
• We live in a world that is always “on”. While electricity may have made it easier to work late into the night, the Internet has surrounded us with opportunities and relationships 24 hours/day. Today’s world never stops. And when the possibility to make money every hour of the day is combined with the desire to do so, rest quickly gets pushed aside.
• A false sense of urgency surrounds us at every moment. We live in a world that floods our minds with so much information that it has become difficult to sort out the important from the unimportant. As a result, the urgent needs of the day crowd out the important. And rest puts up little fight against the urgent.
• Our minds require distraction. Our minds have become addicted to stimulation and validation. As a result, it has become increasingly difficult to turn off E-mail, Facebook, or Twitter… not to mention cell phones, televisions, or the Internet. And when our minds begin to require distraction, rest becomes an increasingly difficult state to achieve.
• Rest cannot be rushed. Modern society loves shortcuts. We desire 15-minute abs, 30-minute meals, and 1-hour photos. Unfortunately, rest can never be rushed. It must be entered deliberately and allowed to complete its cycle in due time. By definition, this requires patience… and a cleared schedule.
• A misunderstanding that rest is purely physical. Rest is physical. But it is more than that. It is mental, emotional, and spiritual. It is an understanding that the world is going to survive without you. It is an inner strength that allows you to disconnect from accomplishing “work” and focus on yourself and those around you. It is not mere physical leisure. It is rest: body and soul.
I have worked hard to keep a day of rest as an important part of my life and weekly routine. But it is an upward battle that requires relentless intentionality—we live in a culture that has far too often underappreciated its value.
Tara says
I’m resting now. A quiet period in the afternoon has always been important to me.
Kimberly says
This is perfect. I’m on a business /leisure trip and in the hotel thinking okay I’m being totally useless and not accomplishing anything. I work very hard and I think my Supervisor orchestrated this 3 day trip to force me to rest and visit with my son who attends college here in town as an added bonus. I need to learn how to shut my mind off for restful periods… but it is super difficult.
Rachel says
Megyn
I hear you.
Sometimes loving God means loving him with all our strength through hard times. Financial hardship is a very difficult thing to “rest” through, because by its very nature, it requires more work from you. Instead of so much resting, which you need weekly, and should enforce for your long term health, try working “long” not hard. Meaning try to always be doing work in a calm way that somehow benefits your situation. One tiny step of faithfulness at a time leads to a clearly marked path that will make your next endeavor that much easier. As Elizabeth Elliot said, “what is the next right thing?” Then do it. Soon you will find restful peace.
esha says
Thanks for an amazing post. I have been following you and leo for some time now. But its difficult to apply what you say. I am an anaesthesiologist working in government hospital in a developing country and i have a 2 year old. I don’t work long hours because of money but its just the way my duty hours are. I am always tired but how to take rest?
Scott says
The true test of success should be measured in significance rather than [financial] success. But often times finding significance requires us to rest long enough to recalibrate our lives around the things that matter most.
Maha Laxmi says
Whenever we talk of “busy lives” – we tend to think “pursuit of money”. However too often at least for the employed salaried people, it is about helplessly being shoved into a schedule that is too demanding, sometimes even eating up into sleep time that one naturally needs and craves for. Being a minimalist can be difficult in such situations – when you can be forced to work unreasonable hours and given a promotion in return, when all you were looking for was a decent livelihood, work/life balance, and a peaceful life. Achieving is not an option – it is required just to be able to earn a living – so what if the salary is high/low – its more about the career you land yourself into – and then what happens next just happens – be it an easy life, or a crazy unbalanced life….
Kaz (The Angel Zoe Kindness Project) says
I was just thinking tonight how desperate I feel for a a break, to be away from everything to give my mind and spirit a rest. But the break I really need is from inside my own head, from the grief that is dragging me down, physically, emotionally and mentally and that is a much harder thing to achieve.
Bernadette says
You have a way of seeing clearly to the heart of an issue and explaining it so well. I used to feel completely trapped by my own perspective – that the amount I did, how busy I was = how successful and valued and worthy I was. Resting felt lazy, unproductive and like I was missing out if I didn’t keep going and keep ‘producing’. Took me a long time and health problems to wake up to the fact it was all an illusion. Thanks for writing this post, it’s a great one to share with others to help shift paradigms, will definitely pass it on to others!
Bernadette :)
Suzanne says
Josh, thank you. I am coming to value rest as I get older. I am tired of all the striving and I am ready to pare down and live more simply. Money is not at the top of my list–peace is.
Bronwyn says
Sometimes chasing the dollar is about surviving, not worshiping materialism. Even ion this essay ostensibly on the value of rest & simplifying, there’s a reference to sloth. Let someone else make that argument.
beth says
Hear, hear!
If you decide to change your life so that you work less, live on less and have more time for rest, family, friends and passions, our market-mindset society is going to discriminate against you in seen and unseen ways. it is HARD to decide that you want to live some other way that lies outside “established” — and socially enforced — norms. When I gave up my full-time job as a bike mechanic to pursue my dream as a freelance musician and teacher, it was a hard adjustment — not only because people judged me for not working 40 hours on the clock, but because my “inner committee” judged me too.
It has been a long process to quiet those voices and pursue my passion.
Having supportive people around helps! They are the ones that remind me (1) that what I do matters and (2) that needing a nap does NOT mean I’m lazy. We all need to rest in order to recharge.