Choose Rest to Change the World

Years ago, my experience with Lyme disease taught me the importance of rest and taking time for myself. I learned the necessity of paying attention to my needs, including emotional and spiritual. I thought that I had learned my lesson well.

So I was surprised to experience a deep level of exhaustion during a wonderful year of exciting experiences including: writing and publishing my first book, interviewing extraordinary people who’s work I admire (including Leah Penniman and Terry Tempest Williams), co-hosting and organizing the Women Working for the Earth Summit, and welcoming our 1st grandchild, in addition to the usual delights of teaching my apprenticeships and other classes and engaging with my clients.

All of these experiences were amazing and magical, touching my Heart and Soul on so many levels.  And I was also overwhelmed by them, feeling exhausted for much of the year, just barely keeping up with what I needed to do.  I leaned heavily on the Plants and brought in all of the support that I could to help me through my teaching season until I could finally get a good rest and recover this fall.

Here I was again learning the importance of rest in a new way.  For this time, it didn’t seem like I was putting others above myself, I was engaging in really enjoyable and meaningful work, I was helping to change the paradigms.  But the truth is that I was caught up in the rush and must dos (exerting energy) and not spending time simply being (filling up). 

Changing the Paradigm Through Rest

We cannot change the paradigms through overwork and exhaustion.  How we do our work is just as important as what work we do.  In fact, when we engage through overwork and exhaustion, we actually solidify the current colonial/capitalistic paradigm. 

This summer, I received this message from Lady’s Mantle: “Rest child.  All the busyness distracts from the real work—the healing, the alchemy.  How can you create from an empty container?  Nourish yourself.  Delight in life.  This is how we transform.” 

How we do our work is just as important as what work we do.

The Plants routinely tell me that often the most profound and productive thing I can do is to simply sit and be quiet.  They also guide me to be fully present, appreciating and enjoying the gifts of the current moment.

I share this because I know that I am not alone in this experience of overwork and exhaustion.  I see so many beautiful Souls passionately pouring all of themselves into creating a better world.  Their dedication, their vision, their Love is truly inspiring.  Yet inevitably, they too tend to learn the lesson of overwork the hard way through accident or illness.

The Violence of Overwork

Thomas Merton says, “There is a pervasive form of contemporary violence to which the idealist most easily succumbs: activism and overwork.  The rush and pressure of modern life are a form, perhaps the most common form, of its innate violence.  To allow oneself to be carried away by a multitude of conflicting concerns, to surrender to too many demands, to commit oneself to too many projects, to want to help everyone in everything, is to succumb to violence.  The frenzy of our activism neutralizes our work for peace.  It destroys our own inner capacity for peace.  It destroys the fruitfulness of our own work, because it kills the root of inner wisdom which makes work fruitful.”

This has been helpful in reminding me that when I engage in overwork, when I do not take time to simply enjoy the wonders of life, I am committing an act of violence towards myself.  At the same time, when I expect someone else to overwork or always be available, I am committing violence towards them.  No matter how important the task or cause may seem, this violence goes against my beliefs of do no harm and everyone is Sacred and should be honored.

Creating Space Facilitating Magic

I have made a pact to myself, my family, the Plants, and Earth that I will make spending time with Nature a priority in my life.  I have made this pact before.  Fortunately we live in the Universe of Perpetual Second Chances, so I have another opportunity.  I know that it is ironic that someone who guides others in deepening their connection with Nature has to make a pact like this.  But unfortunately, so many aspects of my work require me to be at a computer, on the phone, or in a classroom.  While there is not a moment of my day that I’m not surrounded by Plants—house Plants, tea, tinctures, Essences, Plant Spirits, my Guides, it is not the same as having uninterrupted time simply being with them.  Just like a brief phone call with a dear friend on your way to work is not as fulfilling and magical as a weekend getaway with them.

Part of my pact includes having spaciousness in my schedule.  This year, Maple made it abundantly clear to me that magic occurs in those spacious moments.  When we are busy, rushing from one thing to the next or one thought to the next, we miss the magic.  We can’t hear the guidance or wisdom through the noise of busyness.  As I’ve been creating spaciousness in my schedule, I find my body relaxing, my breathing deepening.  Sometimes, the old fear of “I’m not doing enough” creeps in, but I acknowledge it and continue to insist on spaciousness.  I find that I am able to see and hear more clearly.  But of course, for it is in these moments that I can connect more fully with Spirit and the creative forces of the Universe.  Imagination and creativity require spaciousness.

The Spaciousness of Time

One of the drivers of my overwork is a feeling that there isn’t enough time or time is of the essence.  We need to make these changes NOW.  The Plants show me that time is an illusion.  I sometimes spend what seems like hours with a Plant, to return inside and see that only a few minutes have passed.  On other occasions, I think I just stopped for a quick chat and suddenly see that hours have evaporated.  But mostly, they point out that while I think I do not have time to spend with Nature, when I make this a priority, I suddenly have more time in my day.  And I accomplish more when I take the time to sit and be with Nature.  Everything suddenly feels possible.  Plus, I am happier, more peaceful, and just overall a better person when I spend time connecting with our more-than-human kin.

I know that I am blessed to have some control over my work schedule.  Whenever we can and as often as we can, it is important to get off the busy rollercoaster and remember to enjoy all that life has to offer us.  We all could benefit from slowing down, paying attention to our needs, appreciating the present moment, and spending time in Nature.  Whenever we do this, not only do we experience the benefits, we also give others permission to put a pause on the busyness and make their wellbeing a priority.  It seems like a small act (sometimes it can feel like a selfish act), but we are actually shifting the paradigm and helping to create a better world.  Remember Nature is all around us, we do not need to travel far to a “pristine” wilderness to experience Nature. We are Nature. We can simply look up at the Sky or notice a Plant growing out of a crack in the sidewalk. Sometimes the best form of reciprocity is acknowledgement and appreciation. 

It is the dark time of the year for those of us in the Northern Hemisphere.  While the Light will soon be returning, we will remain in the season of the North, the time for rest, repose, and nourishment.  It is in these restful times that we connect with our Wise Ones and remember the wisdom of the Elders, the wisdom in our bones.  While it’s important for us to pause, rest, and nourish throughout the year.  There is a deeper call during this time, a beckoning to quiet and go inward.

My wish for you for this upcoming year is that you enjoy the incredible gifts that are all around us.  May we each take time to breathe and be, deepening our relationship with ourselves, our loved ones, and our more-than-human kin.  As we do, let’s imagine and create the world our Hearts are longing for.  Who knows what magic will emerge.

“I am touching a few leaves.
I am noticing the way the yellow butterflies
move together, in a twinkling cloud, over the field.

And I’m thinking: maybe just looking and listening
is the real work.”

~ Mary Oliver from “From the Book of Time”