For me, true rest is not just sleeping, so see here honestly, i wish it was that simple, sometimes you can sleep for eight hours and still wake up feeling like you have not rested at all because your mind has been busy the entire time, you are sleeping, but your brain is somewhere calculating school fees, thinking about my family, the ones I need to take care of that can't take care of themselves remembering something you need to do, thinking about money, business, tomorrow, next week and about ten other things that have absolutely refused to leave your head.
So when I think about true rest, the first thing that comes to my mind is peace of mind, for me, true rest means being able to sit down without thinking about all the plenty responsibilities waiting for me, It means having a moment where I am not constantly asking myself, what next? or how am I going to take care of this?
Sometimes I just want my brain to shut up small, I want to be able to lie down and actually enjoy lying down without remembering that there is something I should be doing, I want to wake up and not immediately start making a mental list of everything I need to accomplish that day.
That, for me, is rest, and then there is the physical part of it, I think we sometimes forget that our bodies also need attention, we are so busy trying to handle everything that we forget to ask ourselves, am I actually okay?
True rest for me also means having quality time to take care of myself both physically and mentally, It could be taking my bath and taking my time instead of rushing through it, It could be doing my skincare, wearing something comfortable me watching a movie, listening to music, sleeping properly or simply sitting somewhere and doing absolutely nothing....
Sometimes doing nothing is actually doing something.
It is giving yourself permission to breathe.
I also think one of the biggest problems with resting is the guilt that comes with it.
You finally sit down for one hour and your mind immediately starts telling you, "You should be doing something."
But why?
Why do I have to be productive every single minute before I am allowed to rest? i have responsibilities, yes, there will always be something that needs to be done, If I wait until everything is completely finished before I rest, I will probably never rest because life doesn't work like that.
There will always be another bill....
Another responsibility
Another assignment
Another thing waiting for me.
So I am learning that rest should not be something I earn only after exhausting myself completely, sometimes I need to rest simply because I am human.
And honestly, I am still learning this, you see me, I am the kind of person who can have plenty things going on in my head and I will still continue moving as if everything is just fine, but I have realised that constantly pushing yourself does not make you any stronger, sometimes it just makes you just tired.
I want to get better at giving myself permission to be able to pause, and it is not because I am lazy or something, not because I do not have things to do myself, but just because I deserve to feel okay too.
For me, true rest is when my body is really relaxed, my mind is quiet and I am not feeling guilty for taking that moment to myself at all , It is being able to say, for now, everything can wait, let me just breathe, and seriously, sometimes that is all the rest I need.
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