Sandee Macgregor

Blessings, choices, encouragement, Faith

Permission to Rest

Sandee Macgregor / October 8, 2023

Permission to Rest

We give our kids permission to do things all the time. Permission to go to their friends’ houses after school. To go on that field trip. To eat a piece of chocolate after dinner. It’s a natural part of being a parent, but in the process we can so easily forget that sometimes, we have to give ourselves permission to do things too.

It sounds funny even as I’m typing this, but there are times when we actually have to give ourselves permission to do nothing at all. Think of how many times you’ve felt heavy with exhaustion, or burnt out, but you pushed yourself to keep going. In that moment, what you needed to do was rest, but you didn’t allow yourself to. I don’t know what stage of life you are at, but it can be hard to imagine setting aside time to do just nothing because it can come with a lot of guilt. When you have so much to do, how can you justify just sitting and doing nothing!?

We actually have to give ourselves permission to do nothing. Nothing looks very different to each person, but universally, it’s a surprisingly hard thing to do. I don’t know about you, but even when I do allow myself to do nothing, my mind is always thinking about something, or someone, or what I should be doing instead. It never really goes quiet.

Last weekend, I carved out a few minutes to just sit, because I was feeling the need to do that elusive nothing. There were a million things that needed to get done: prepping for dinner, cleaning, purging, reading, writing…it was a struggle to allow myself those few minutes I needed to just rest. I didn’t realize how much I needed it. I ended up falling asleep, and even though the guilt for having “wasted” time was still there when I woke up, I felt so much better. Those few minutes of much-needed rest gave me the strength to accomplish all the things I needed to do next.

Those moments of rest look different for everyone. For some, it might be a walk in nature. For others it might be a cup of tea while sitting at the kitchen table. Resting might look like a creative pursuit or a mobile game, or it might look like a few stolen minutes of much-needed sleep, like it did for me last weekend. Whatever rest looks like for you, I think it’s important that you allow yourself to take a few minutes to do it every once in a while. Ultimately though, it’s not the amount of time that you take that matters. It’s the exercise of allowing ourselves to take that time, even if it’s just 10 or 15 minutes.

If you really struggle with doing that, it can help to have a friend or family member who can keep you accountable and encourage you to take some time for yourself. My neighbour and I have a new routine where we meet up to walk together in nature, and it’s wonderful because not only do we hold each other accountable for taking that time for ourselves, we also get to connect and hear about what’s going on in each others’ lives. I’m really excited to start doing that with my son as well, who lives less than 10 minutes away. In this case, nothing takes the form of exercising while catching up with friends and family. It’s not nothing in the sense of simple rest and relaxation, but it still means that I get to choose to take time away from everything that consumes me and keeps me busy, and doing this recharges my batteries and helps keep me focused on the things that I really need to do.

Whatever nothing looks like to you, there is strength in giving yourself permission to take these moments that fuel your soul. Whatever it is for you, schedule it into your calendar like you would with anything else. Just simply put down “nothing” and see what unfolds, because that nothing will inevitably turn into something, and it might even become a habit that you forgot you needed.

Give yourself permission to rest!

Music for you soul today!

One response to “Permission to Rest”

Gloria Mudge says:

October 18, 2023 at 12:03 pm

Nice combination of suggestions my dear. A good reminder no matter our age. To deliberately do nothing for a bit!! Contributes to rejuvenation alone!! Let’s do it sometimes: nothing!❣️

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