Time for a Rest


Do you ever find that there are times where you just have to hit a full stop and rest? For me, trying to do that at home can be hit and miss - I just keep coming on things I want/need to/should do there.  But it’s nice to get away and do just that sometimes.

I’m writing this as I look over fields of harvested crops still glistening with dew (or perhaps melting frost) out the window.  This isn’t my home - it’s my friend’s.  And being here gives me a special kind of solace.  Not only do I get to enjoy our time together, but I get some good distractions as well.

It’s not that I’ve been “gone for a month... drunk since I left”, to paraphrase Spirit of the West’s hit Home for a Rest, but I’m finding that this enforced separateness is doing odd things to my brain.  

As an introvert, I’m typically nourished by quiet and alone time - I enjoy people, or at least, certain people or groups of them, but they can also fatigue me.  Being home and alone typically feeds me.  But right now, with all of the current restrictions and limitations, I’m starting to notice that I like to choose to be social, or to not be.  I’m apparently not any more a fan of enforced isolation than I would be of forced socialization.  I’m a little surprised by that.

We’re living in strange times right now, and I guess the real thing to keep in mind is that we’re all affected by this differently.  I’m not locked up or quarantined - I still go to the store as needed, visit friends, and occasionally even hang out at a restaurant.  It just feels different.

And so, here I am in the early morning country.  It’s nice.  We had a great drive and a great chat down memory lane - and I’m so privileged to have friends with whom I can talk for hours about anything at all without ever getting bored.  It’s definitely been a quiet rest without dancing or wild parties (neither of which are really my ‘thing’) but a productive one.  I’ve been able to talk openly about what’s on my mind, and to just feel heard, loved and understood.  Those sound like small things, but they’re not so in any way.  In fact, I would say they’re among the more critical aspects of life - or at least, mine.

It’s good for me to stop the merry-go-round and get off to breathe for a few minutes, and just BE.  It’s probably good for you, too.  So my challenge for you today is this - what are you doing to nourish yourself, to give yourself space?  Are you able to help by giving that gift to someone else?

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