Author: clfuu

Rest is many things, only some of them “logical.” As someone who lived mostly in my head for much of my life, I had a hard time grasping the rationale of rest; there was always so much to do, and life was so short! I wanted to pack all I could into every moment. Rest seemed wasteful to me.

Then my bodymind made me slow down. First, trauma made itself known, and said, “You must deal with me.” My heart hurt, my mind was sluggish, and my whole being demanded rest. I craved quiet and outside time. I learned to listen to the birds and bugs again, like I had when I was little. Then, disability emerged from my genetic makeup. Bed and chair and pillow became my best friends. Tea time in the backyard replaced endless errands. Left with no alternative, I let go of what was unnecessary – and what was left was the joy of rest.
-Steven Leigh Williams (CLF)

Listen to your body today and give it healing rest.

I hate naps. I always wake up feeling awful. My mouth is dry, my body feels achy, and I somehow feel more tired than when I went to sleep. But, I rest in other ways. I rest by recharging with loved ones. I rest by watching my favorite TV show. I rest by closing my work laptop and being “done for the day.”
-Tanner Linden (CLF)

How do you rest? How do you recharge?

Once when I described myself as “lazy” someone said, “Whose word is that? Is that your word?” And I realized it wasn’t my word. My words would be rested, thoughtful, cozy, rejuvenated.
-Marin Smith (CLF)

What other good words can replace the negative language we sometimes use about ourselves when choosing to rest?

“Even at rest, tucked within the One, little brown [bats] cannot sustain their usual inner life. Each bat must reset its normal–drastically. Together, hanging very still, they slow their resting hearts from four hundred beats per minute to twenty…”
-Gayle Boss, from “Little Brown Bat,” in All Creation Waits

How might you reset your normal drastically?

When was the last time you slowed down to listen?  Did you know you can hear the chattering of grasshoppers at dusk? Have you ever felt the hum of cicadas fill your ears until it drowned out all other sounds? When you take a bite of your favorite food, can you feel the texture of it on your tongue? We were made for these pleasures that come with rest.
-JeKaren Olaoya (CLF)

When you slow down, what do you notice that you didn’t perceive in your hurry?