Rest, Rest, Rest. Give it a try.

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Lives tend to move at warp speed, and before we know it we often are simply looking for a chance to catch our breath.  Most of us get up on a Monday morning giving thought to what the upcoming week is going to bring our way.  There are many who look at each new week as a whole assortment of possibilities, while others wonder what catastrophe is just around the corner.  Our minds latch on to both sides of the equation:  what will be good, and what will be bad.  We go from one situation to the next; go, go, go, stop, stop, stop, go, go, go.  The problem is, is that we never take the time to simply quiet our minds and let the body do what it does so well, and that's keep us from harm.  It's time to schedule some rest into our daily lives, and in doing so, give our being the break that it so desperately needs from time to time.

I realize that each of us have a schedule.  We have deadlines to meet, projects to move forward on, plans that seem to change daily, and not by our wishes but by the wishes of others.  We take on each day and yet we never quite get the hang of taking care of ourselves.  There is the ever present Law of Diminishing Returns.  Sooner or later everything is going to come to a halt if we don't take the time to give ourselves the time we need to recoup.

Rest is not simply getting seven to eight hours of sleep each night.  Rest is not simply taking that wonderful Sunday afternoon nap.  Rest is a time where you can escape into utter nothingness.  Rest is a period of absolute tranquility.  Rest is something that needs to be in our daily lives, even if that period of rest is simply measured in minutes and not hours.  We have become a society of investors.  We invest our time, we invest our money, we invest our hearts and soul into others, and we invest our energy into things we deem appropriate and needed.  When will we see the importance of investing a little time to rest?

I know people who are always on the go.  I know people that are always on the hunt.  Certainly there must be something to do, and if they're not doing it, something is dreadfully wrong.  We've been conditioned that everything has to be done yesterday, but the only thing that is going to come from this botched up thought is a whole lot of stress, a ton of anxiety, and a mess of zero rest in our lives.  Is this really the way you want to spend your day?  I'm all for having goals.  I'm a huge believer in planning things out.  What I want you to realize is that nothing is so important if it requires you to give away something that is so important.  You can have tons of money and success, but if you can't quiet your mind for a few minutes each day, sooner or later you are going to be spending all that money on medical and counseling bills.

Rest my friends is the key.  Rest is a reward.  When you are able to see the importance of taking just a little bit of time each day to rest and quiet your mind, you will begin to see the rewards that come from it.  Now I'm preaching to the choir when I talk about rest, because I am just as guilty as anyone of having put everything ahead of my need for rest.  The issue is certainly brought to the forefront when we continue to ignore the signs.  These signs will tell you that rest is needed, and in fact rest is something that is probably lacking in your life.  If you cannot sleep, my guess is you lack rest.  Mindful rest people, Mindful rest.  You have to be able to shut down your mind, or sooner or later your body will begin to shut down.  If you can't seem to focus or maybe you've lost the ability to see joy in everyday things, my guess is, you have not found the ability to really find a place of rest.

I'm not saying any of this to bring you down.  I'm saying these things to build you up, to give you hope, to change the way you do things, and in doing that change your life.  Rest is not negotiable.  Rest is not a "if I get a chance" kind of thing.  Rest has to be a priority.  You taking time to rest each day has to be as common place as you breathing.  I know I may be trying to simplify things, but simple is better then complicated any day of the week.

Light begets light.  Love begets love.  Rest begets a new you.  When you incorporate rest into your daily routine, you will fundamentally change the way you see things, the way you do things, and people around you will benefit from these changes.  The old adage is "what comes around goes around."  If you fail to protect yourself, then you are asking for all forms of bad and crazy to come into your life.  If bad and crazy does come, then so do the moans, the complaints, the crying, and the anger.  You can change all of this by being good to yourself and allowing yourself to step into periods of rest throughout the day.  Remember it's not the quantity of time you spend, but the quality of time. You can shut down your mind and meditate on light, love, peace, and joy.  If you do that, guess what comes back to you?  Now you've got it, and now you can begin to rest a little bit more, and enjoy life a whole lot more.  You have mind word on that.