The problem is that it’s hard to imagine a day of complete rest. Actually, imagining is easy, doing is the hard part. Since it’s one thing to imagine oneself on a beautiful beach with a book in hand, snacks and drinks nearby. It’s another to make sure this day of rest didn’t involve thinking about all the work that would need to get done soon. Or the work looking after the family, keeping them fed and happy. Or even the work of getting to the beach, organizing the snacks, making sure nothing is lost.
I suppose the solution would be to get a hotel somewhere and just order room service. But then I’d still feel this inkling of wanting to be productive: maybe I should write, or brush up on my science literature. Each day I do actually take off is suffused with this feeling of unease. Almost like you’ll regret this later. Or maybe even, if you do this too much you’ll never start up again. I look back on how much energy I had in my twenties, I wrote a novel and non-fiction book in two years while doing a PhD and raising a child. How did I have so much motivation?
But let me try a little harder to imagine the complete rest….
I’m in Greensboro, it’s a perfect summer day (since this is the only restful time). I have an array of Ben and Jerry’s, fresh fruit, cereal, maybe some cheese. I have a stack of library books, at least one memoir, one fantasy, one history. Occasionally I will let my eyes leave the book to stare out into the water, dreaming of things.
I guess another interesting question is knowing that one day of rest doesn’t seem to cut it, it’s not enough of a break. How much time do I need to fully feel like I've rested and ready to come back to normal life? Nobody will be the same, but I’m pretty I would need months, maybe at least a year.
But then could I fall back into the fray at all after my year end break? Would I be ruined? Or maybe I’d finally understand the value of work and would be excited and energized to go back. Being raised with a New England Protestant Work Ethic it’s hard to feel like any rest is okay in the long-term. And then there’s the Christian view of the sabbath day of rest, which seems to be about thinking about God, which is a lot of work (to be honest), not always restful.
The other thing that came to mind with the idea of complete rest is death, which really doesn't seem like rest to me, since rest should be restorative, it should lead to renewed energy, rather than none.
— siobhan
I suppose the solution would be to get a hotel somewhere and just order room service. But then I’d still feel this inkling of wanting to be productive: maybe I should write, or brush up on my science literature. Each day I do actually take off is suffused with this feeling of unease. Almost like you’ll regret this later. Or maybe even, if you do this too much you’ll never start up again. I look back on how much energy I had in my twenties, I wrote a novel and non-fiction book in two years while doing a PhD and raising a child. How did I have so much motivation?
But let me try a little harder to imagine the complete rest….
I’m in Greensboro, it’s a perfect summer day (since this is the only restful time). I have an array of Ben and Jerry’s, fresh fruit, cereal, maybe some cheese. I have a stack of library books, at least one memoir, one fantasy, one history. Occasionally I will let my eyes leave the book to stare out into the water, dreaming of things.
I guess another interesting question is knowing that one day of rest doesn’t seem to cut it, it’s not enough of a break. How much time do I need to fully feel like I've rested and ready to come back to normal life? Nobody will be the same, but I’m pretty I would need months, maybe at least a year.
But then could I fall back into the fray at all after my year end break? Would I be ruined? Or maybe I’d finally understand the value of work and would be excited and energized to go back. Being raised with a New England Protestant Work Ethic it’s hard to feel like any rest is okay in the long-term. And then there’s the Christian view of the sabbath day of rest, which seems to be about thinking about God, which is a lot of work (to be honest), not always restful.
The other thing that came to mind with the idea of complete rest is death, which really doesn't seem like rest to me, since rest should be restorative, it should lead to renewed energy, rather than none.
— siobhan
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