Ping! Email notifications. Ping! Calendar reminders. Ping! Family duty calls. Ping! Alarm rings! Work beckons! Repeat.
We live in a world where information moves faster than it ever has before. Your niece with a lisp just got married. Nigeria held its elections and the brodas (Nigerian pidgin for brother) were treated to a Nollywood blockbuster. Peter Drury added to his poetic commentary by saying: Jesùs didn’t turn water into wine but he got the cross that put the ball over the line. Your Uncle, the one with the Steve Harvey suits, yes, he moved to Kampala with his cats.
Faster information begets a twin corollary. The first is because we get information faster, it seems as though life itself is happening at a faster rate. Consequently, it seems as though we have more things to attend to against less time with which to attend to them.
All the while, the story of this journey we are on continues to unfold. The years go by. The vicissitudes of life persist. Our bodies take the inevitable wear and tear of mortality. Then that, that insidious yet deeply gnawing question emerges: where did the time go?
We live in a world where rest seems criminal. Your mind guilt trips you at the slightest thought of rest. You are constantly trying to fill up your downtime just so that you have something on your hands. Anything but rest.
Beloved, thou tireth thy soul. We are human beings not machines. Adequate rest is essential for our functioning. Rest is a necessity not a favor.
I once read a quote that stuck with me:
If you do not make time for your wellness, you will be forced to make time for your illness.
Beloved, rest.
There is much truth in the quote that you have shared, Billy. At what point did the notion and thought of rest become troublesome? I think there comes a point where we have to learn to turn down some of the noise.
Hey Davy😃
I think it can be as early as in elementary school. Especially in systems where academic success supersedes all other forms of success. There’s the inevitable premium of do more, rest less. If this is the case, it becomes difficulty to see rest as something part of success.
What’s your experience Davy?
At what point did rest become troublesome for you?
At the point when I decide to take some, Billy. I have an overactive mind which transfers to my daily activities. I’m on of those that waits for the body to tell me when to rest. I am starting to get better at listening, but it is a long process.
Well said. I also think additionally that people are losing their ability to focus and have shorter attention spans because of the rate at which info is changing, and there is so much more noise and distractions out there. This only makes it more important to care for and “protect” ourselves from the chaos of the external world and also just to show gratitude for the present moment regardless of where we are in life.
Hey Con😃
Wiser words were never spoken👏🏿👏🏿
I find this interesting…and true. Well said.
Thank you, Sage 😊
What a beautiful post, Billy. Your descriptions of your family plus the deep question about time capped with that great quote about wellness. Wonderful!! Thank you!
Thank you Wynne, such kind words😊
Brilliant post Billy. I’ve missed your writing/uplifting messages. I wonder, is the world really busy or is it our minds that are racing at a gazillion miles an hour. Is it not simply a reflection of our mind that we see in the real world. When I slow down, the world slows down too. 🙏
Hey AP😃
It’s so wonderful to hear from you 😊
On this one, I think it’s the latter. Our minds are racing at a gazillion miles per hour precisely because we are receiving a gazillion pieces of information per hour!
Slowing down, resting, would demand that we be kind to ourselves and minds by limiting the amount of information we consume, even if for just a moment.
With the years passing by, I decided to become slow (in Italy there is the slow food movement, as opposite to fast food, I think I took inspiration from that) because I didn’t want to lose focus of what was happening around me. When my son was born, I stopped using the watch because I didn’t want to see the hours passing by, my son would be the witness of my time flying away. Beautiful reminder Billy!
Hey Crisbie😃
It’s great to hear from you.
I love that bit about you choosing to stop using the watch after your son was born. It’s the intentionality for me👏🏿👏🏿👏🏿👏🏿
Great post and excellent quote!
Thanks,Todd😃
Spot on blog post Billy. I agree with the quote that when you don’t make time for your well being illness lurks around in the corner🔥🔥👍
Rest is really needed as we are humans not robots