Wednesday, August 11, 2010

Rest like you mean it...

Read a lovely article in my Oprah magazine today about the importance of rest, loved it, here were a couple of my favorite quotes,

"If nothing's working for you, if you feel as though you're pushing forward against the grain, the most productive and proactive thing you can do is nothing. Nature is turning you inward, to gain power through peace, rather than outward to gain power throughg activity. If this feels alien to you, watch animals. When nothing's working for them no matter how hard they try, they curl up or stretch out and surrender. They love the valley of the shadow: It's a dim, quiet, perfect place to gather strength. In Africa I watched a pride of lions, tired from an unsuccessful hunt, lie down and purr like tractor engines for hours. One of my friends observed, 'You know, they rest like they mean it.'"

"Most humans rest in a state of anxiety, guilt and unease. We don't mean it. This keeps life's down times from fulfilling their natural function, which is to restore and heal."

"So, though we often see life troughs as the universe's conspiracy to ruin us, they're actually our own true nature inviting us to lay down our weary heads."

3 comments:

comfy cozy said...

I really, really like this one! I do sometimes find myself resting in a state of unease as the rest of the house around me looks like a toy bomb exploded! :)

Good reminder and I'll be sure to put this little tidbit to practice next time!

Tanner Blake's Blog for school. said...

Love it! Thanks for sharing!

Pipas para la paz said...

I've been resting like I mean it a little too much lately, maybe we would swap obsessions!