Rest is a pretty important thing that I think we too often take for granted. It's so necessary, our bodies require several hours of rest every day in order to function properly. Imagine how much we're denying ourselves if we don't find a way to *properly* rest every year, month, or week.
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| Lake Constance, Germany |
Living in Spain, I've come to realize that even something as basic and simple as rest is valued differently in each culture. In America, it seems to be "work as hard as you possibly can for as long as you possibly can so that you can rest later... maybe" while in many European countries, they take an entire month off work every hear to vacation with their families, close shop at least one day a week (usually Sunday) to rest, and even have shorter work weeks. And it turns out all these things make for more efficient employees who have happier lives. Crazy.
So why is it still hard for me to prioritize rest?
How can I be better about fitting rest into my weekly routines?
And what does rest actually look like?
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| German wildflowers |
For some, rest may be as simple as having a few hours to themselves to read a book, listen to some music or a podcast, go for a hike, or even go shopping. For others, it may require a lot more planning and time off in a completely different setting. I think we actually need a little bit of both - taking time to rest every week and going on a vacation. Those vacation days are meant to be used. You don't want to deny them of their purpose, do you? ;)
So a couple of months ago, I knew I was in need of a more of a "vacation rest," which meant leaving Spain. Thankfully, there are a bunch of places I can get to on a dime because of budget airlines in Europe. I chose Germany because it was close enough that travel time wouldn't eat up most of my short 3-day trip, it was a language I didn't know so I could mentally zone out when I was in coffee shops, and one of my best friends happened to be studying abroad in Munich the same weekend I was looking at going. There was basically no reason not to go.
Here are some photos from the whirlwind (yet restful) trip:
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| View right outside the Sbahn station - Marienplatz |
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| Reunited after over a year!! |
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| Munich mimosas with the best! |
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| Taking a peaceful walk along Lake Constance |
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| Exploring Memmingen, Germany |
When it was all said and done, I wished I could have stayed longer. Even just one or two more days would have been nice. But I did come back feeling pretty refreshed, which was the purpose of the trip. And so I think I will be a little more intentional about seeking out times of rest - whatever they might look like - on a more regular basis.
There will (nearly) always be work to do, but shouldn't have to go through life running on fumes. We should enjoy every aspect of life - both work and rest - and that requires a balance of the two.
So, rest up.
Go adventure. Try something new. Go for a hike. Read a book. Explore a new place.
Do something good for your body and soul.
♥
mk
