Rest

​What the hell are you talking about…rest?! I have too much to do!
This week, let’s talk about rest or more important fatigue. There has never been a time in our history in which humans have been exposed to stimulus at such a high frequency.  We can get it, see it, learn it, do it, whatever we want…it is just a click and charging that credit card away.
In the current pandemic if we work from home there is no down time between work and play. Now more than ever we need time to rest.
Our animals and children will remind us. My nephew just called me on a group chat. When I saw the missed call and text my sister to ask if she had called, she replied that he took her phone. She was working and he is only nineteen months old. Ha!

Even in doing this research I was bombarded with advertisements which I had to click on to remove from the screen while trying to get information.
Shut up already!
​How many calls a day do you get from advertisers? Putting your phone on silent is the only option to get anything done these days. How many family members need something from you, or of you, now?  “Just email me” is the new norm. We just don’t have time. We have to prioritize everything we do. It is like a dog barking at a doorbell and we all…are barking internally.

Take time to rest. Here are a few suggestions.

• Listen to your body. If you feel tired, take frequent breaks during work time.
  Close your eyes and breathe through your belly for five minutes. Set a timer if you have too.
• Take a walk. Just walk and let your mind wander. Alone.
  Going alone is important as family, including animals is demanding. You need time for you to rest.  Look at the trees, plants, flowers. Just be, walk until you feel that things relax and settle. Your body and mind are resting.
• Turn off the television, any device with a light (cellphone or IPad) one hour or more before bedtime. Drink calming tea, lie in bed and meditate. Remember you need to pet the barking dog inside you.
•  Schedule a day to do nothing, not even exercise.  Unless exercise, even sex is something you enjoy. You must schedule this at least one day a week to rest your mind and body.
• Skip a scheduled activity. Give your body and mind time to rest. You can do it next week. It might even give you time to rethink where you want to spend your time in the future. You are the boss of you, always…ultimately. Be you.

Lastly, humans need down time to reboot. Communicate and coordinate with family this need. Stress kills. Make no mistake about it. If you do not rest sometimes, you will become like a tire shredded away to nothing. Take time to rest.