Beyond Physical Rest

Though rest has an important physical dimension, it’s about more than a good night’s sleep, more than mere physical recuperation. Rest has vital psychological and spiritual dimensions to it as well. If we don’t get adequate rest for our souls, we start to break down. Sometimes we get so rest-deprived that when we do have a moment that’s not filled by a responsibility, we don’t quite know what to do with ourselves.

Too many of us live in a way that leaves no room for life. But we set ourselves up for this by making work and productivity a god. As a culture, we believe rest is a waste and that productivity and the bottom line are what really matter. In a way we are almost obsessed. In our work-oriented, performance-based culture, even the time allotted to us when we don’t have to work is usually filled with some variation of work.

How to Rest

We need to learn rest. But what “works” as rest is an individual question. Things affect people differently. What feels like rest to you might feel like work to another. Everyone has his or her own definition of too much, too little, or just enough.

Just remember that rest is a way of renewal. It happens when we choose to forget our problems and all the stuff life jams down our throats and instead remember who we are and why it is we do what we do. And rest can be snagged in snippets:

• finding a few minutes of solitude in the midst of a hectic day;
• setting aside fifteen minutes to go for a walk, or power napping after lunch;
• pausing in the rough-and-tumble of life to remember a special moment from the past (never be afraid to sit awhile and think);
• stopping to look at the pictures of loved ones on our desk and remembering where the photos were taken; or
• pausing here and there throughout the day to pray a scripture or sing a hymn to God.

A healthy dose of rest sprinkled throughout the day restores our physical being and renews our emotional and spiritual energies. The real secret to entering and practicing Sabbath-type rests is learning how to be more reflective—reflection requires some inner awareness with a peppering of silence and solitude.

Ours is a noisy world. Just watch those around you—most people can’t go five minutes without some input from outside themselves. Life is constantly “messaging” us. TVs, CD players, radios, the Muzak in stores, iPods, and smartphones all pour an incessant stream of messages into our lives.

Who's Afraid of Silence and Solitude?

Silence is not natural for us. If we want to cultivate quiet within our noisy hearts, we’re going to have to deliberately grow it. We “grow” silence in the greenhouse of solitude. Silence and solitude usually go hand in hand. The problem is that lots of folks are scared to death of both. Hence, our addiction to noise is almost absolute.

Richard Foster noted: “One reason we can hardly bear to remain silent is that it makes us feel so helpless. . . . If we are silent, who will take control? God will take control, but we will never let him take control until we trust him. Silence is intimately related to trust.”

We must become familiar with both silence and solitude if we want to break through our inner chaos and restlessness. The discipline of Sabbath rest requires that we establish inner disciplines that help us to develop quiet, settled, thoughtful, and confident souls capable of interacting meaningfully with God and this world.

Abraham Heschel wrote in this regard: “He who wants to enter the holiness of the day must first lay down the profanity of clattering commerce, of being yoked to toil. . . . He must say farewell to manual work and learn to understand that the world has already been created and will survive without the help of man. Six days a week we wrestle with the world, wringing profit from the earth; on the Sabbath we especially care for the seed of eternity planted in the soul. The world has our hands, but our soul belongs to Someone Else. Six days a week we seek to dominate the world, on the seventh day we try to dominate the self.”

Finding time for silence and solitude will be no easy task. You will have to believe in and value them highly. To-do lists and appointments will mercilessly encroach. But you’ll be surprised at the “little solitudes” that will appear if you look for them: those moments after you wake, before other family members begin stirring; sitting for a few minutes with a cup of coffee before you head to the office; do a radio-free drive to work; take a short walk during lunch or after dinner; stepping outside just before retiring at night; etc. Keep hunting for these moments, or your life will end up flat and tasteless. Without them, you will have a vague sense that something is missing, but you won’t be able to put your finger on it.

Rest that comes from reflection is a beautiful thing—a divine gift. Unpack it. Hold it. Treasure it. Use it well, and life will grow sweeter.

Questions for personal reflection, online discussion, or small groups:

• What are some small ways you can rest throughout the day?
• What is the difference between a healthy coffee break and a Sabbath rest? When is a coffee break not a Sabbath?
• When have you experienced silence or solitude in the past week? Are you afraid of silence or solitude?

Photograph, "kite 046" by Ann Voskamp, used with permission