Day 29: Rest for the Journey

I grew up in a family of hard-working folk. There isn’t a lazy one among us, however once we finish the work, there isn’t much energy left for anything else. As introverts, no one ever accused us of being over-committed, over-involved, or over-stimulated. My husband grew up in a family that never met a hobby, person, or extra-curricular activity they didn’t like. They are extroverted, high-functioning people with a few ADHD’ers thrown in to liven things up at the annual family Christmas party.

When I married my husband, my Dad gave me this piece of advice “Honey, don’t try to keep up with him. It will burn you out. Just let him do his thing.”

Truth.

I tend to surround myself on my life journey with high-functioning people. My best friend once told me “I’ll rest when I’m dead” and my husband once famously referred to me as “medium-functioning”. I know, sometimes there are no words. These are my people, and I invite them in hoping their superior high-functioning-ness  will rub off on me, and other times I hope they’ll take come up with the grand ideas, the know how, and the energy to see them through, while I sit in my hollowed out spot on the sofa pretending to have an opinion.

I believe I require a lot of rest, but too often I mistake inertia of the body for rest of the spirit. My mind doesn’t stop. Ever. I can’t turn the incessant internal chatter off and I often think if I sit still enough or watch enough TV or go for a long enough run, I will find rest. At times I do, but it’s as short-lived as the activity.

This journey can wear us out. The work, the people, the never saying no, the hobbies, the thoughts, the stories, and the obscene amount of laundry can make rest seem unlikely at best and impossible at worst. I want to learn how to embrace the necessity for rest, while remaining engaged in the work and play of life. Tara wrote beautifully about it here, and my soul recognizes this call to rest.

I don’t have any answers, really. I only want to acknowledge the need and see where my heart goes from here. How do you find rest on your journey? Do you need more physical rest, or do you long for the rest of a weary soul?

For all 31 Day posts please click here.