We work. We travel. We drive wild children around in the car all day. Many days I’m no where near home and the thought of being alone and closing my eyes under my napping blanket is as likely as a unicorn jumping in my car in the pick up line.
Plus, I’ll be traveling next week and I traveled last week in the MIDDLE of a series on rest. What am I thinking?
Here are some ways that I’ve found I can find rest when I’m not home
1. Take advantage of natural quiet times
For me, even on the busiest of days with meetings and carpools and conference calls, there are some natural quiet times in my life. Instead of making phone calls in the car or sending emails while I wait in the pick up line, I can let my mind wander and think. I can release some of the angst that’s built up during the day. What if we arrived a half an hour early to work? We could take advantage of the quiet in the office before the whole crew arrives. It might make the difference between a stressful day and a restful one.
2. Find ten minutes
Ten minutes isn’t a magic number, but ten minutes is often easily found. Even if you have to cut ten minutes off of a strict lunch break or add ten minutes on to your drive home to sit in your car by the lake, ten minutes might be worth it. On a road trip {like my family is taking this week}, find a pretty spot and take ten minutes in the fresh air.
3. Consider Active Rest
Sometimes rest doesn’t necessarily mean taking a real nap or being quiet. When we are on the road or at work, maybe rest means taking a walk around the block on a break or exploring a new neighborhood on foot by yourself on a trip. Maybe rest can be cracking open a novel or a magazine for a quarter of an hour and give your brain a rest from what you’ve been working on. Even good sweaty exercise can be a way to rest, believe it or not. Our bodies wake up and our minds are freed up to think and form new ideas.
4. Reduce sensory input
Think of all the information we take in minute by minute through our five senses. I’m not even talking about emails, texts and internet nonsense. I believe if we can reduce the sensory input, we can help ourselves rest wherever we are. Turn off the music when you drive, move to a quieter room, close your eyes if you can {not while you are driving} and make some room in your brain. Don’t be afraid to be alone with your thoughts, it might be awkward because its been awhile, but I promise, you’ll get used to it. You might like it!
5. Pack a blanket
This might sound silly, but if you have a blanket with you, you have built in rest wherever you go. I just travel with a thick old quilt in the back of my car – the kind that I can throw down on the ground when I have a few minutes to myself in between things. Maybe it doesn’t work quite as well as the weather gets colder for outdoors, but one can never go wrong having a cozy blanket in the car. I’ve also taken to bring some kind of thin blanket or scarf with me on planes so that even when I’m wedged between two large people in the center seat, I can pretend I’m somewhere else.
What ways have you find to rest when you are not at home?
To read the rest of the posts in this Thirty-One Days of Rest Series | click here.
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I sing! But I don’t mean that absent-minded, along-with-the-radio or in-the-supermarket-while-I’m-picking-bell-peppers kind of singing (and yes, I’m that person who sings *everywhere*. It’s a part of me that I’ve learned to embrace
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Right. So what I’m getting at is the kind of singing that brings *focus*…when you actually pay attention to the lyrics, or what you remember of the melody, or whatever. Note: for me, it’s not always Christian music, either
I mean, hymns are *stellar* for prayerful reflection (example: I often fall back on “Come Thou Fount” as I walk to/from my college campus), but any music works, really. The idea is that it gets me to slow down and focus on the moment right in front of me.
that is beautiful Sonika!! i love the hymns =)
it might sound superficial, but i keep fingernail polish in my car. sometimes i take 5 minutes in the car (buckled in, key in the ignition) to paint my nails. that way they have the entire drive to dry. this morning, i didn’t have that luxury of extra time, so instead i took the polish into work and gave myself 5 minutes in the bathroom to touch up my polish.
Oh, I love that! (And it doesn’t sound superficial to me, for what that’s worth – it just sounds like fun.)
that’s great Brooke! i might use that one, if you don’t mind =)
I used to do that until the day I spilled the bottle on my favorite skirt. Now, I get everything in the car , paint inside, and then drive.
We just got home from a long weekend trip, and I’m exhausted! Isn’t it funny how something that’s supposed to be fun and relaxing can wear you out so much! Thanks for these tips!
oh, isn’t that so true?! =) hoping you find rest today.
us too! it’ll take ke all week to get caught up enough to rest! hope you have a better time with it.
Pack a blanket!!! I love it!!! I’ve been thinking for a while that I should have a pair of tennis shoes in my trunk so I can always take advantage of a chance to enjoy taking a walk outside wherever I find myself during the day- when I only have my work heels on I miss out on those chances. Tonight, my extra shoes and an old blanket are going in my trunk! I really love this series Sarah
i’m so glad heidi. and yes, i have had the shoe thing in my car before. i have also done the thing where i keep my gym bag or a change of exercise clothes with me so i can get out and take a walk if a spare 30 min opens up. =)
Sarah-This is so close to my heart. I feel such a call to rest. Here is what we do:
1. Lay Flat for 5 minutes. For some of us, this is not an option. But think on it, most of us are either walking, sitting or standing all day long. Get your hips up and your head in line with your heart. It will do wonders for your blood pressure. You can recline your seat in a parked car.
2. Start Earlier. This is a biggie, I know. Stop running late all the time. When you are always running late you are anxious and that much further away from rest. Set your alarm clock 15 minutes ahead.. Just accept it takes 30 minutes to still get the kids in the car, even though they walk themselves. Stop trying to make dinner in 10 minutes, it’s a 45 minutes job and plan for that.
3. Drink Something Hot. Not coffee all the time.. Try some tea or even just some hot water with a slice of lemon. Our grandparents use to drink hot milk before bed.. It worked for our babies. Warm drinks coat our tummy.
4. Take a Deep Breath. No bigger. Inhale so much that your shoulders reach to your ears. And if you are really feeling free let your arms go up as well. Then exhale, all the way down to your toes.
5. Quiet Rule. It’s not the quiet game kids. It’s the rule. My boys are 7 and 4. I can still get the 1st grader to nap on the weekends sometimes because they know what to expect. The key is to separate the kids. It lasts about an hour and they have to be quiet. It’s amazing how the 7 year old will find an old photo album or look out the big window and mumble some school song. Cooper will be sprawled out in the playroom with his pillow pet twinkling his fingers. And also, no interrupting and it goes both ways. “Think some more on your questions and ask me in a little while after quiet time.”
6. Just BE. Stop praying for your sick aunt or a new job or even your kids. Just stop talking. I know, this is bold too. Ask God to dwell in you, around you. Then be quiet. You know those friends that always talk about themselves, don’t be that to God. Be quiet throughout your day and know that He is God.
wow, heather! i LOVE those suggestions! thank you SO much for sharing them =)
i enjoy hot almond milk with a dab of honey. such a relaxing afternoon/evening treat!!
yum!
I love this! I have been forced to “rest” and “be still” for a while now…with MONO…. I would not recommend this avenue. It has taught me though, as I’ve started back to work, that there are ways about being ABLE to rest more. Here is my biggest and best change since my illness.
SAY NO.. Just say it. The world won’t stop. You likely won’t get fired. Kids won’t go hungry and your hubby won’t leave you. If you have five minutes to yourself and someone tries to hijack that (unless, of course, it’s snuggles from your kids because you MUST ALWAYS SAY YES to those), be defensive of it. Guard your time like you had to PAY for it…because really, you do. Saying no to someone else is likely you saying YES to yourself…and you deserve that time. That rest. The break.
i love it jamie!! so sorry you have been ill. that doesn’t sound like fun at all! =(
#4 by far is the one that I benefit most from. Cutting the iphone, ipad, email, etc input brings down my stress level BIG TIME. But you already know this
hhmmm. yeah. love you. =)
great ideas! I have a blanket in my trunk and never thought of that