Day 34: Working hard to rest…

“We humans have lost the wisdom of genuinely resting and relaxing.  We worry to much.  We don’t allow our bodies to heal, and we don’t all our minds and hearts to heal.”   

-Thich Nhat Hahn

Today I was feeling all sorts of blah… fighting a cold, and dealing with other issues.  I normally swim, run or walk despite illness, but today, I made the executive decision to take on a new habit….  I am going to rest and relax!  Yes, this is new to me, as I am always trying to squeeze an activity into a ½ min, if I could.  It is a good thing I wasn’t present when the work week was created, because I probably would have insisted that it be 10 days instead of 7!  Alas, part of the Quest is embracing new things and learning to deal with whatever comes along with it.  Today, my new thing is REST…

In my effort to embrace this concept, I had to find some inspiration online to help me accept this change.  And so, with a couple of hesitant keystrokes, I found the perfect poem to remind me to relax…  Let me share…

Relax by Robert William Service

Do you recall that happy bike With bundles on our backs? How near to heaven it was like To blissfully relax! In cosy tavern of good cheer To doff our heavy packs, And with a mug of foamy beer Relax.

Learn to relax: to clean the mind Of fear and doubt and care, And in vacuity to find The perfect peace that’s there. With lassitude of heart and hand, When every sinew slacks, How good to rest the old bean and Relax, relax.

Just sink back in an easy chair For forty winks or so, And fold your hands as if in prayer, –That helps a lot, you know. Forget that you are you awhile, And pliable as wax, Just beatifically smile . . . Relax, relax, relax.

 It is with those soft and blissful words of “Relax, relax, relax…”  that I rest my head, ever-so-gently, on my pillow. I bask in the breeze coming through the window, my favorite throw draped over me and the soft crackling of aspen leaves dancing in the breeze lulling me to relax.  My eyes slowly and steadily becoming heavy, helping me drift to a place where only dreams can invite me.  It is here that I will remain until my body is rejuvenated, my mind is clear and my perspective is back in focus.  And if a good dream happens to lasso my mind, just leave me there.  I don’t want to miss the bliss of a good dream that came from my newfound commitment to rest.

Doing what I have resisted for so long… resting and relaxing while letting some very good thoughts carry me to a place where only dreams exist … wondering what tomorrow will bring.