Rest isn’t a Reward. It’s a Rhythm
So last week, I found myself a little slowed down,
A sore throat set it, and was gently nudging me to stop, cancel plans, lay down, nap when I could (with two little ones) & listen in.
At first, I resisted. There’s always that little voice right? “you should push through, people are counting on you, you don’t have time to get sick”
Then another voice, reminded me, first by saying “ummm… the world doesn’t completely revolve around you lovely…” haha “that it’s okay if you have a few days off”…
Then, finally the calmer, wiser voice came through louder and said:
“Rest is not a reward. It’s a rhythm. Just slow down, be and accept this.”
It’s easy to forget that rest is built into nature. Nature seems to so effortlessly goes through the changes. The tide retreats. Trees lose their leaves. The moon disappears before it reemerges full again. We too are part of that cycle.
When we give ourselves permission to truly rest, especially when the body asks for it, noticing those earliest signs, whether through tiredness, emotional overwhelm, a little tickle in the throat, we create space for something deeper to happen,
I believe it can be
The release of what’s stagnant.
Unprocessed stress, unspoken emotion, energetic heaviness, it often gets lodged in our bodies and rest softens the grip. No longer can we avoid the discomfort, or the uncomfortable feelings, we have to sit and be in it.
A shift in timeline.
Sometimes, when we stop doing, we start transforming. I like to think of it as a subtle system upgrade. This can happen more so when we are in solitude, we may need to not be around other people for this shift to happen, and it can actually emerge when we allow ourselves to slow down and surrender to it.
The return to alignment.
Rest is where we reconnect with our truth. Where we remember who we are underneath the layers of busyness and productivity.
So if you’re feeling under the weather or just off-balance lately, maybe it’s not a setback. Maybe it’s a sign.
That it’s time to listen. Pause. Receive.
And trust that doing so doesn’t take you off your path, it actually brings you back to your correct path, maybe with a bit more purpose & knowing in your step.
With love,
Kate