In the midst of the popular hustle and bustle of our society, it is rare to hear people passionate about rest. Tricia Hersey calls herself " the Nap Bishop", and she declares rest as an act of both liberation and resistance. She just wrote a book "Rest is resistance: a Manifesto" in which she reminds us all that rest is a part of our humanity and that our value is not attached to our productivity. We are enough just as we are. Tuning into ourselves and getting the rest we deserve is an important part of self-care. In a 2020 survey of behavioral habits, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that lack of rest is correlated with conditions such as heart disease, diabetes and high blood pressure. Tricia Hersey says:" We are praised and rewarded for ignoring our body’s need for rest, care, and repair.”
Far too many of us have claimed productivity as the cornerstone of success. It feels good to be reminded that our worth does not originate from how much we produce, or from how much we earn, especially not for a system that tends to exploit and dehumanize us. According to Tricia Hersey, "rest, in its simplest form, becomes an act of resistance and a reclaiming of power because it asserts our most basic humanity".
I also believe that when we grant ourselves more time to rest, we get a chance to reset, to be more present, to find inner peace and ground ourselves. This reset allows for more creativity, and more high-level thinking. A few moments of calm can lower our stress and calm our nervous system down. It sets the focus on being not on doing. We are in fact human beings. We are free to just BE who we are. That is both freeing and empowering. It gives us the ability to be more and do less. What would happen if we all decided to rest whenever we needed it? If we were committed to caring for ourselves and letting our minds and bodies rest as much as they needed it each day? Let's imagine that the next time we rest!
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