Lent Reflection: Recognizing Work and Rest

Work is exertion. When I work I exert energy and effort. I may be digging a trench or moving rocks. I may be exerting influence or exerting my will. I may be struggling to find just the right word or phrase, struggling to make adjustments, or struggling to motivate someone else to take a specific action.

Work develops our capacity for work. Working helps us become better at what we do. We build muscles, or an ability to remember names, or the skills to search out hidden information. We practice working, and we are able to work harder.

Rest is not exerting ourselves. Rest is when we let go of the things that drive us to push forward.

People rarely become better at resting by practicing rest.

Rest is not the same as play or what we often call recreation. I have a hard time thinking about competitive resting.

It can be a challenge to recognize, from external cues, whether someone is working or resting.

Some work can appear to be rest. I spend a good amount of work time listening to other people, and it might look like I am resting. I am often sitting down, not moving very much, not even saying anything. I may even close my eyes while I listen. Listening can be very difficult work, and can require that we exert significant effort and strength of will to pay attention with depth.

The people I know who are most proficient at resting recognize that not everything depends on them. Some of them do very important work, and strive to do the best work they can. They recognize, though, that they need to rest to work to their full potential.

When is the last time you got some real rest?

How could you become more adept at resting?

[Image by josef.stuefer]