Happy October! I can’t believe that we are only three months away from 2024! Last month, I had the pleasure of taking myself on a vacation!! One of my goals for this year, was to have a beach vacation. I find water to be very relaxing and the beach is my happy place. Earlier this year, I found a deal on Travel Zoo for a 3-night stay at the Fairmont in Barbados. So, at the end of last month, I spent two and a half glorious days on the beach, in the water, eating, drinking, and journaling. I muted all emails, all work notifications, and barely took any personal calls while I was away. I was able to come back to work and to life feeling refreshed and revitalized. I knew I was burnt-out; I just didn’t know how exhausted I was until I was able to stop. While I was away, I realized that lack of rest steals so many things from us. So, if you’re feeling as though you’re running on fumes, I hope you take the time to read this post to find out just how much you are truly missing out on.  

1. Lack of rest robs you of stillness: Without the constraints of work, or responsibilities, I allowed myself the opportunity to be still. I wasn’t looking at a clock, or my phone, I could just be. still. In the present moment. Our busy lives constantly have us running from one thing to the next often without the ability to truly savor the moment in front of us. Rest forces us to be still. And sometimes the stillness is scary because who are we if we are not busy? If we’re not creating something, or excelling? You are enough. Without the accolades, without the accomplishments. You are enough because you are you.
2. Lack of rest robs you of gratitude: One of the reasons I love the ocean is because it’s humbling. It reminds me that I am a small part of God’s creation. My size doesn’t determine my worth, but the world is so much bigger than me. Sometimes we focus so much on our problems, and our issues, and our lives that we forgot that there is a big, beautiful universe out there. I am so grateful to live in a world that has oceans, and mountains, and snow. I have so much to be grateful for, and sometimes you can’t appreciate that until you stop and look around at the world around you.
3. Lack of rest robs you of peace: I was so anxious about this trip. The dates were changed three times due to work and travel costs. My friend was supposed to go with me, and she had to cancel last minute. I was worried about the weather here in NY affecting the flight and worried I might not enjoy myself. But this was honestly probably one of the smoothest trips, I have ever had. I was reminded that there are many things that are outside of my control, and that’s ok. Life will happen the way it is meant to happen. The things I can control, I will and the things I can’t control I will take them as they come.
4. Lack of rest creates over-critical thoughts: I tend to be a very anxious person. I overthink almost everything. I am constantly planning and thinking about the future. I am very hard on myself and often don’t give myself the same grace I extend others. But I noticed that while I was on vacation, these anxious thoughts subsided. I allowed myself to just be. However, I looked, however I felt, was ok. I stopped judging myself as much. When we are exhausted, we don’t often realize that the person we take out our frustration on is ourselves. We don’t exercise, we don’t eat properly, we nitpick at every flaw we have. Rest allows our body and our mind to come back to a space of equilibrium. To remind ourselves that we are flawed, but we are also beautiful in our imperfections.

I’ve been back from Barbados for a few weeks now and woke up this morning reminiscing about my trip. I know that we might not all be able to fly to another country, but I urge you to create moments of rest in your life. Whether that means shutting off your phone for a weekend and staying in or spending a day sitting in the park. We were not meant to hustle and work every day of our lives. Let me know what other ways that you think rest depletes us by leaving a comment or send me an email, I would love to hear from you! I wish you rest and recovery this fall!