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After months of working pretty much non-stop, I finally am taking a day off. Maybe even two.
I need to rest up, recharge, and reconnect. I need to snuggle Lucy do a mountain of laundry, clean out my closet and finally get the flowerbeds the spring attention they deserve. I need to hang out with Coach, make some calls to the friends I have been neglecting, write some notes and make some food. Then, I need to have a glass of wine and read something that was actually printed on actual paper. I might also need to nap or bake something. Or both.
Need.
It sounds like a big word for a list of such mundane tasks. But I really mean it. Outside of the obvious: food, water, shelter, we each have a larger set of needs. One set for just being humans: love, connectivity, touch, intellectual and emotional stimulus, physical activity, sunlight and a varied and nutrient rich diet. And one set for being us.
Each of us has our own personal set of needs that help us be who we are in the very best way possible. This helps keep us engaged, and balanced and nourished. It helps us grow and be strong. I can tell when I am only getting my 'human' set of needs met and not the rest of my needs. My 'Leigh' set of needs. I feel wonky and unhealthy and usually a bit crabby. I don't feel brave in the world or totally prepared.
Sometimes my human set and my 'Leigh' set intersect. For instance, sometimes my 'intellectual and emotional stimulus' may match up with my need to watch sappy romantic comedies or re-read a Jane Austen novel. Or my human need for physical activity may bump into my “Leigh” need for being outside or in nature at least once a day. The lines are blurry. As they should be. The point is that they are both there to keep us balanced and really alive.
When we are working too much, or not giving ourselves the respect and care of taking some time to check in on these needs we can get depleted. So when I say 'rest' I mean it both literally (good sleep, down time etc.) and as attention to the other things. Getting to the rest. Because the rest is just as important.
What is your 'rest'?
xoxo
