You are still valuable when you rest

You are still worthy and valuable when you rest.

And no one can rest for you, except you.

Yes, people can help you with the logistics of taking a day off, looking after the kids, getting meals made, doing practical things that you might have previously been the one to do, and yet still... Even if you have time and space and the permission of others, 

You can’t outsource rest - you are the only one who can do it for you.

There is nothing wrong with working hard. Give yourself to your work, enjoy it, revel in it, dive into your vocation with your whole self and show up to your work in joy and grace and wonder. However, relentless productivity at the expense of your soul is toxic, harmful, and abusive. Productivity does not equal validity.

We have developed an addiction to getting things done to the point where we are 'owned' by it.

How many hours?
How much money?
How many boxes ticked?
People reached?
Margins met?
Problems solved? 

We fall into the trap of wearing the answers to these questions like a badge of honour, showing off how busy and economically viable we are. I don't know why we feel that the more we do and make and achieve, the more valuable we are as people, as if we weren't valuable to begin with. I don't know exactly why we judge ourselves and others on how much we contribute and make and amass and create.

But we do. 

And we must stop. 

You are still worthy and valuable and enough when you rest, when you're not producing anything, when you're not contributing, when you're receiving help from others.

And look, it's not linear. You'll go through seasons where you'll work around the clock. You'll put in money and time and back-breaking, painstakingly hard work to get something completed or just to make enough to get by. You'll put in time and energy and effort into being a parent, a partner, a friend, a sibling.

We've all been there, and we'll all be there again.

It's the nature of things.

Productivity, in its essence, has a flow to it. It's not full steam ahead, guns blazing, heart racing, don't stop, keep going, all the time…

That kind of approach to being productive will burn you out and eat you up.

Included in productivity is renewing your strength, rejuvenating your spirit, resting your body.

Healing.

Work hard, and to keep it up, rest hard. Play hard. Enjoy good food, holidays (of any kind and scale), star gazing, ocean swims, pointless walks, naps in the sunshine, reading in silence, listening to music, moving your hips and swaying your arms in a wild dance... have fun. It's all a part of the flow. It's a gracious rhythm. It's part of the journey.

There's a lot going on in our world; there is a lot to do. And it can feel heavy and weighty and very serious. But there is a way to hold the tension of these things and also feel a lightness that makes you smile.

It's not one or the other; it's both together.

Rest. Smile. Sleep. Laugh. Heal. 

Mindful Prompt: Just because it doesn't look like anything is happening, doesn't mean that nothing is happening. Who knows what miracles can spark when you put aside your "to-do" list and do something that serves no productive purpose but that you enjoy it.

Continued in the upcoming series, "You Are The One" this week with a subscription in the App.

Written by Liz Milani.
Instagram: @thepracticeco