Rest

I’m on a coffee detox, again.
Health issues, again.

It’s somewhat of a cycle when you have an autoimmune condition, and flare ups are part of the journey. I’m on meds, changing my diet and following doctor’s orders, with a check-up in two weeks. I can’t say I didn’t see it coming. Our bodies give us signs, and we need to pay heed to them. In my case, my body was screaming out for rest. So that’s what I’m trying to do.

Rest.

How do you define rest? Let me re-type that for emphasis.

How do YOU define rest?

We all have different interpretations of rest based on our lifestyle and interests. Rest isn’t a blanket term for doing nothing. For example, writing this feels restful to me and it’s also productive because my last blog post was more than a month ago. Writing has always been cathartic for me; my calm place where my thoughts meet my keyboard, unrestrained. I admit, have been neglecting this to an extent.

You see, we schedule so much into our busy lives, but are we scheduling time to rest? Rest for me is interlinked with self-care and mindfulness. I find that if I’m well-rested I’m able to bring the best version of myself to all that I do – personally and professionally.

Oh, and rest doesn’t have to be boring either. Chilling with your tribe, chatting to your bestie who lives in another province, listening to music that vibes with your soul or sending relatable memes and reels to your friends and family (I do that!) can help you rest, simply by making you smile and laugh. I mean, why else would there be laughter therapy? Yes, laughter therapy does exist, I kid you not! Perhaps that’s a topic for another blog post.

For now, take this as your reminder to rest whenever you feel the need to. Resting does not mean quitting. Think of it as time to rejuvenate for the journey ahead. As the quote by Erica Layne goes…. “Rest is not idle, is not wasteful. Sometimes rest is the most productive thing you can do for body and soul.”