I’m going to guess that if you are anything like me, it has been awhile since you’ve just stopped.
Sat. Stayed. Closed your eyes and let yourself just be.
No phone, no kindle. No laptop. No magazine.
Just stopped.
You drive and run and rush to all the places and people who need you. You tick boxes off of to-do lists and you race around after toddlers who leave comet-trails of goldfish crackers in their wake. You build businesses and followings and you walk dogs and search for new things to fill your time with.
In the past weeks you haven’t taken the time off of laundry or dishes and organizing the kids drawers before school starts for the fall to even
Take a breath.
And then when you aren’t running you are sitting and moving your fingers along the electronic devices that are knit to your hands.
Nothing bad will happen if you just stop. I promise.
Nobody will die if you put it all down for an hour or a day and just let it all stop.
Yes, your kitchen may pile with the dirty leftovers of a morning and the toddler might dump her dress-up box out all over the stairs. The grocery list might go un-bought for another day and that blog post might still wait in the draft folder.
But you will remember what it is like to be quiet.
So today, turn the computer off. Place your phone upside down on the kitchen counter and leave it there. Tell your to-do list it will have to wait another day. And then begin the process of unbinding your mind to the information that hangs in it and your body from the need and desire it feels to keep moving.
Rest today. Sleep, even. But just be.
Maybe you’ll find that smile again {and some silence} if you stop.
Do you find it hard to stop? What makes you stop and rest?
Sarah, I am teaching myself to rest and working on teaching my kids.
When they are at home we observe a rest period during the day. My youngest still sleeps, my other two just have quiet time in their rooms. No TV, no video games…Just time to play quietly, read, take a break.
I pray we all learn this valuable lesson. When we don’t rest we risk our health – spiritually and physically.
Thanks for the reminder!
i love it angela. and i’m coming off of a crazy afternoon. i need to read my own post… =)
Sarah, You and I share the same struggle with this!
I wrote about it here: It will give you a laugh I think.
http://www.weakandloved.com/2011/10/power-struggle.html
I have to put “breathe” on the list, seriously. I have to give my technology a “sabbath rest” and my mind too. It’s a survival strategy, and if I forget it, I will remember when I crash. Must breathe in, receive, and BE LOVED by God and others… how else will I have love and life to give to others!?
Great post
Emily
going over to read it right now!!
Love this! Thank you for sharing – what a great reminder!!
thank you grace!
I do find it hard to stop, hard to let go, to not do. To enjoy, savor. My family reminds me. Shutting off the computer reminds me. A good book reminds me.
I’m trying to remember that art, creativity, and passion isn’t produced from a deficit. I have to be filled, stilled.
It’s hard.
yes! i agree. creativity definitely comes from an out pouring of a full life. well said, heather.
I’m guilty of this big time. I have to MAKE myself put my iphone down to pay attention to a tv show. I feel like I’m trying to do too much and it’s impossible to get it all done. That’s why I cherish vacations, where we get away from daily routine and tv and tech devices. We are so busy we don’t have time to enjoy what’s right in front of us! It never hurts to be reminded to stop and relax. Thank you for the nudge!
yes!! me too. thank you for commenting, chrisor!
love this post. we all need to do this more.
Ppl have forgotten how to just live.
xo
i agree. =)
Great post. I love the time purposely set apart to just “be.” This is a practice we started in our home when my children were in grade school. We would have a day referred to as “time out.” I would take off work and the kids stayed home from school. We all lounged around, no phones, computers or other gadgets to occupy our mind. We simply “were” together. It was an amazing refresher each quarter. My kids practice the same thing to this day.
oooh. i love this. such a great traditions, debra. thank you for sharing it!
love this…
it’s a WAY necessary reminder of the REAL stuff of living…
living is NOT rushing, doing. accomplishing or even finishing…
instead, living is being close to Jesus, to the dear ones He has placed in our hearts & the people who brush against us daily…
living is serving these people in the love that Jesus has also poured over our heads & into our hearts
the closeness & the loving is what makes our hearts truly beat…not the marked off list of things finished & done…
thanks for reminding me of LIFE, of what it means to LIVE!
dad
so true dad! thank you!! i saw your rainbow photo from last night. so amazing. =)