Doing nothing is an act of creative living

Emotionally, I had a tough week. It was like carrying around an extra assignment that I didn't plan for. And while I had many break-throughs, understanding what I'm releasing and what new perspective is here now is still forming. And I'm giving it plenty of time. I've learned these things become clear when they're ready, not necessarily when I want them to (over many years of attempting to rush the process).

So instead, I asked myself one of my favourite self-care questions for hard moments: 'how do I love myself deeply through this?' The answer: rest. And ice cream.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w8BC6-gc35w

To me, rest is doing whatever my body wants or needs; it is nothing 'to do' (it feels effortless); it is restorative, meaning it gives me energy.

In the case of 'doing nothing' as a form of rest, I like to think of this as 'raw dogging' life. No phone, no screens, and no distractions so that I can reconnect with the felt sense of my present experience. In other words, I become aware of what I see, hear, smell, touch, and feel in that moment. Especially in these times, 'doing nothing' serves as a break from taking in the huge expanse of information available to me at all times via the internet and brings focus back into my life to regulate; to (temporarily) make my world small enough for me to process and understand it again. In this way, it is a radical act of care.

What are other ways you reclaim 'in between' moments as ways to rest and do nothing?

Here's my list so far:

• have coffee with myself (and do nothing else)

• just wait (for the bus, my order, for someone else, etc.) and observe the world around me

• between work meetings, do nothing for 2 minutes to let my body transition naturally (rather than trying to answer a message or email)

• walk my dog slowly, without a destination

What would you add?

And what is your definition of rest?