On the value of REST
"You gotta know when to be lazy.
Done correctly it's an art form that benefits everyone."
- Nicholas Sparks
These last couple of weeks have been about slowing down, and catching up.
Last week I had my mum visiting from Australia, here to celebrate our daughter Orla's 2nd birthday, which was fabulous, and exhausting. Our house is now filled with a lot more pink! I also had a terrible cold, and basically just needed to have as much downtime as possible, amidst the birthday preparations and celebrations.
The value of REST -
I found that being sick, although super unpleasant, was a valuable opportunity to pause and catch up with myself. In that pause, a very rich inner process took place that I don't think would have had the chance if I'd been well and on the go, like I usually am. It wasn't what I wanted, but somehow was what I needed. The "downtime" was a very generative time, as ideas were posed to the depth and clarity bubbled up in surprising ways. The experience reminded me again why I so deeply value rest. Many of you know that I am a passionate advocate of resting, for many reasons, and sometimes I say I get all my good ideas while lying down!
Here's some evidence as to why that is -
Research by neuroscientist Dr Nancy Andreason has shown that when the brain is completely free of inputs, completely free to wander, the brain engages in what is termed “random episodic silent thought” or, coincidentally, REST.
During REST, the brain engages areas in the frontal, parietal, and temporal lobes that are known to gather information from the senses and from elsewhere in the brain and link it all together—in potentially novel ways. When the brain/mind thinks in a free and unencumbered fashion, it uses its most human and complex parts. A brain in the resting state is actively connecting thoughts and experiences.
Essentially, the brain defaults to creativity.
This is a super important function of our brains that supports everything we do, but it's something we often don't value as much as our "productive" time, to the detriment of our health and wellbeing.
Coincidentally, an old acquaintance who I haven't seen for nearly 20 years sent me a photo this week of one of my all-time favourite pieces of writing by Michael Leunig on Rest, that I had written out for her by hand! Amazingly, she had hung onto it all these years, and it still rings true.
So here's to REST! Here's to boredom! Here's to allowing ourselves periods of open space, mooching around doing nothing in particular, and to the creative possibilities we may discover in that generative space.
What's your favourite way? You could try doodling, sky gazing, sipping tea in the garden, meandering walks, lying on the earth, picking your toenails! Or simply resting with the body and the breath. These can all be powerful and regenerative practices that nourish us on a very deep level. Enjoy!
Now, back to my meandering mind......
Restfully,
Chani
