I’ve been away from my blog and social media (uhm, not really all the time), this past week because I was feeling a little overwhelmed with everything, from my work to the chores at home and to all I should accomplish and I should learn and work on in my new ventures. The list is never ending and I feel such a wreck what with a constant, throbbing pain in my head and tummy aches I think are largely due to stress.
So I declared to have a week off for myself, sleeping during my afternoon breaks and sleeping early instead of typing the night away on my laptop. I was certainly not resting well in the first few days. I can’t help but think of my blog and it doesn’t help with my headache. But as the days passed on to Thursday, I learned to let go and simply enjoy myself. 
I reconnected with old friends and have good laughs and refreshing conversations. And by Friday, I was enjoying my day off having a wonderful time in a video conference with the love of my life. So yeah, I was refreshed and motivated and feeling like I can do everything. Working miles away from your family and loved ones can be pretty exhausting at times. You got to be really independent and strong. And you hope and pray you won’t get sick or you’ll have to take care of yourself alone. And that’s distressing and make you more homesick than you’ll ever be. Thanks to technology that today we can always connect virtually every second of the day if you just have an internet connection. It made things easier, for sure.
“Activity and rest are two vital aspects of life. To find a balance in them is a skill in itself. Wisdom is knowing when to have rest, when to have activity, and how much of each to have. Finding them in each other – activity in rest and rest in activity – is the ultimate freedom.”
― Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, Celebrating Silence: Excerpts from Five Years of Weekly Knowledge 1995-2000
Having done nothing for one whole day except reconnecting and strengthening relationships with people that matters most certainly did wonders for someone like me who have to live every day on my own. I felt motivated after my “recuperation” days and ideas are bouncing off my head. I was ready to take on another week ahead. I felt energized.
Resting has done great wonders for my state of mind, my motivation, and my mood. It brightens my perspective and I was more appreciative and grateful today than I have ever been these past weeks. I was more optimistic and I felt less tired. And what’s more, I was more in tune with my environment.
“The most valuable thing we can do for the psyche, occasionally, is to let it rest, wander, live in the changing light of room, not try to be or do anything whatever.”
― May Sarton
I was also more inspired to do some exercise. Yeah, I’ve been meaning to do some exercise to keep up with my health goal this year but I always felt too tired to do even a little jog in the morning. I always woke up late and so, I was always in a rush to go to work, but these past few days I was compromising to do a 10-20 minutes exercise in the afternoon or after work. It was still not my ideal time to do some exercise because I still cannot wake up earlier in the morning for the life of me. But still I am doing some exercise and I’m feeling awesome!
“Action done totally brings relaxation; relaxation done totally brings more action.”
― Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh, When the Shoe Fits: Stories of the Taoist Mystic Chuang Tzu
Certainly, rest does a lot of wonders to the mind and the body and it is really very essential for us mere mortals. Rest is the time where you can recover and grow emotionally, mentally, physically and spiritually. Rest recharges your inner batteries and reconnects you with your self. You get to spend time with yourself and listen to your body, calm your mind and be fully aware of your environment.
There is so much that rest can help us when it comes to having a sound mind and body and for our overall well-being. Have you also taken a week or days off unplugging, recharging and relaxing fully? What impact did it make in your life? Have it improved areas in your life or did you feel positive changes that relaxation brought about? Please share with us below!
Stay well-rested, my friend. 🙂
