Rest is Not Laziness

🌟Weekly Inspiration🌟

Monthly Theme: Permission to Pause

For some of us, we were raised on the idea that rest equals laziness. Slowing down was not allowed or encouraged. Stillness might feel scary. Boredom is hard to tolerate. Doing. Doing. Doing.

It can be hard to unprogram our brains—but it is not impossible.

Being productive feels good, and having meaningful ways to spend our time is terrific—it just needs to be in balance. Burnout is real. Rest and play should be valued. We should be able to rest, especially in the summertime. Kids and teens should have lots of unstructured rest, sleep, and playtime—truthfully, this is how they get to know themselves, mature, find interests, and decompress. They are "under construction," and what looks like idle laziness may actually be the very important work of childhood. Childhood today looks like mini-adulthood rather than actual childhood—and that is not good for them.

Ask Yourself:

Am I able to rest? Is my partner?
Do I want to untangle my relationship with rest and give myself (and my kids) permission to do less?
What happens in my nervous system when I'm chronically under-rested?
Do I believe that my children should be active, productive, and busy all the time?
What does "just being" look like to me?
Why am I uncomfortable with slowing down? If I'm still, what am I afraid of noticing?
Can I make a small intention to put some breathing space back into our summer?

Be Well. ❤️