The Wonderful Word for this Wednesday is ‘Rest’.
Rest. It is essential to our bodies, minds, and souls.
Story Time
This past weekend, I had the opportunity to get away from the daily routines of our busy life and go rest with a friend at a nearby resort and spa. This had been a Christmas gift in 2021 to my friend and I from our husbands, but the first two times it was scheduled, it got cancelled due to a storm and then, of course, COVID. The third time’s a charm though!
Considering our track record, we didn’t allow ourselves to get excited until we were literally standing in our room with our bags. At that point, we could release the breath we had been holding and settle in to our weekend.
During our couple of days away, we walked by the seashore, kayaked, biked, laid by the pool, got massages, enjoyed the steam room and sauna, watched a chick flick, slept in, had coffee in bed, bird watched, and breathed in as much sea salty air as we could.
Multiple times during our trip, I took a moment to check in with myself and see how I was feeling in my body, mind, and soul. You see, I had this odd sensation, this foreign feeling, and I was trying to put my finger on it. Turns out, it was the feeling of being restful.
What does it really mean to feel ‘restful’?
This feeling of being restful was not just another feeling on top of my normal feelings, it was a peeling off of layers. It was the absence of several things.
It was the absence of conflict, which is just a part of daily life when you are raising kids and there are four of your living under one roof. It was the absence of responsibility for others and their schedules. And if you know me well, you’ll know how much this next one meant to me: it was the absence of “what’s for dinner?”.
There was no laundry to pick up, no choreographing screen times, no demands!
To my surprise, I even let go of creating for this little stretch of time, giving my creative side a rest as well.
The absence of all of the above, even just for a few days, allowed me to experience restfulness.
Not to worry, though, because of course I collected beautiful moments and inspiration for future creativity:
The sunsets were STUNNING!
Anyone care to create a caption for this gull?
This will definitely make it’s way into my floral art work somehow!
Friends, I’m fully aware that many of us are just not able to do this kind of little vacation. There has been many periods in my life where this type of trip was not possible.
A rest doesn’t have to be an extravagant vacation, it can be a half hour sitting on the beach breathing in the sea air with no distractions. Just a clearing of the mind, letting go of life’s demands for a short bit.
What would you need to strip off in order to rest, if even for a few hours? Where would you go?
In Conclusion
Because I allowed myslef the time and space to rest, I am a better wife and momma this week. My words are kinder, less toned, and my patience bucket has been refilled much to my children’s delight. And now I get to discover what the creative rest has done for my creativity!
Here’s to more periods of restfulness in all of our near futures.
Kimberly Snider, Virtuoso, Signing off
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