It is the end of a gorgeous weekend here in sunny California. My family and I had a very nice, restful weekend. On Saturday we enjoyed what we call a Family Fun Day out together. We went to OSH Hardware store and it was incredibly relaxing – the kids were overjoyed to see the outdoor fountains and my husband and I were delighted in their squeals and laughter.
It got me thinking that something as simple as going to the hardware store and looking at outdoor fountains with my family can bring so much joy and rest – what a perfect way to “recharge our batteries” from a long week of busyness.
Now, I did not used to be a fan of resting. I used to equate resting with idleness, or laziness. If you’re a hard worker, you probably know what I’m talking about here. But, as we shall see, resting is MANDATORY for survival.
If you’ve watched the movie CARS, you’ll remember that Lightning McQueen the hot-shot race car had to stop to get his tires changed. He made a “pit-stop.” He rested!
It’s such a simple point, that we often overlook it. I know I did. I can get caught up working, working, working – and forget to rest. Formula for stress, burn-out, and not only that – it’s a very un-focused way of working. You can work hard, but not go very far.
Somehow, we’ve got to get out of the mindset that stopping to rest is being lazy. That’s an absolute lie. Now of course, a person can take that too far and stop to rest all the time – and THAT is being lazy. But a person who works 5 days a week, or even 6 days a week – and takes 1 day to take a break from that routine and take a leisurely stroll or nap or whatever – that person will not only last the distance, he or she will be more effective because the effort is more focused.
So I just wanted to re-iterate that resting and idleness are not the same thing. The outward activity of resting and idleness may look the same in some cases, but idleness is a complete waste of time, whereas resting – true resting – is a rejuvenator of time.
