Buddhist Catholic Contemplative Evangelical General Christian Hindu Jewish Latter-day Saint Muslim New Visions Progressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos

Strategic Monk

Home
Contemplative
Practices From the Inside Out: Reflecting, Resting, Recovery

Practices From the Inside Out: Reflecting, Resting, Recovery

Last updated on: August 17, 2019 at 3:33 am by Greg Richardson

Practices From the Inside Out: Reflecting, Resting, Recovery 2019-08-17T03:33:24-08:00 Greg Richardson

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Reflecting, Resting, Recovery

I know people who believe we can push ourselves all the time. They begin to feel nervous or guilty when they take time for reflecting, resting, recovery.

People have told me, “We can rest when we die.”

For some of us it is not simply the idea we are so strong we are beyond the need for rest. Some of us have a nagging suspicion if we take time to rest other people will realize they do not really need us. We might have so many things to do or so many people depending on us we cannot take time for reflecting, resting, recovery.

Our approach to life is to push through as much as we can until we have no choice but to stop.

Many of us live our lives swimming in a sea of unfulfilled exhaustion.

There is always one more thing we need to finish or begin or organize or review. We do not want to waste our time resting when we have so many important things to do.

The irony for us is we often seem to miss doing the things we want to do. We struggle to clear our calendars so we can create unforgettable memories with our families. Our plans and expectations are full of goals we never have time to achieve.

We could, of course, continue living as fast as we can. Some of us have found a pace with which we are comfortable. Many of us research ways we can improve how fast we live or special equipment to help us live faster.

Eventually, though, we will probably stumble and fall or run into a wall we cannot climb. We may experience what it feels like when people pass us by living faster than we do.

A Summer of Reflecting, Resting, Recovery

Some of us want to find time for reflection but we just cannot find time to squeeze it into our schedules.

Most of us realize, at some level, it is not healthy to live at full speed all the time until we hit an obstacle. We know we need a balance of reflecting, resting, recovery.

Partly as a necessity following surgery and partly as a way to explore healthy spiritual life, my summer has been one of reflecting, resting, and recovery. There have been days this summer when I needed to stay in bed and sleep. On other days I have needed to get up early, finish something, and then take a nap.

I have spent more time this summer reading and reflecting.

In a couple of weeks I will drive up to New Camaldoli Hermitage for a few days of stillness and contemplation.

It has been a good summer for me. There have been times when I wished I could be living faster. Everything got done on time. I have learned things and begun contemplative practices I hope to continue into the future.

Some people ask me how I am feeling and whether I am back up to speed. I tell them I am recovering, spending time resting and reflecting. Many of them do not really know how to respond when I tell them about my summer. Some people are surprised and others seem a little envious.

Reflecting, resting, recovery, and reading are all things I hope to continue doing. Along with getting exercise and eating wisely they seem to be basic building blocks of healthy living.

It is not as if I have been sickly or prone to illness. I believe living in a healthy way is an essential spiritual practice.

Each of us is exploring what is healthy for us.

Taking Time for Reflecting, Resting, Recovery

In my experience reflecting, resting, recovery are essential parts of healthy living. I believe one of the keys to living the way I want to live is finding balance in the rhythms of life.

Being healthy can help us physically and emotionally. Reflecting, resting, recovery can lower our blood pressure and change how we respond to other people.

For me the most significant benefits are spiritual.

One of the most important aspects of these practices is how we follow them. Some of us end up imposing them in our lives as a new set of rules or expectations. We seem to assume we need to be serious about reflecting, resting, recovery. We require ourselves to meet rigorous standards of how reflective we will be.

It is helpful for us to develop regular and meaningful practices. We do not want to begin a practice which becomes one more thing we need to compete or accomplish on a tight schedule.

Merely adding more goals to our plans and increasing the pressure on ourselves does not make us more healthy. How can we change the ways we relate to reflecting, resting, recovery?

Living Into Reflecting, Resting, Recovery

There are ways we can change our balance of reflecting, resting, recovery one step at a time. We still have time this summer to try something new which will help us find our balance.

I believe the time I put into reflecting, resting, recovery is as essential to my health as exercising and eating wisely. It changes my breathing and blood pressure, how I relate to other people, and spiritual life.

It can be challenging to recognize we cannot push our way into a healthy balance of life. Some of us even have checklists for how we expect to grow spiritually. Part of our balance is appreciating the value of reflecting, resting, recovery.

We are in a complex network of relationships with other people, the world around us, ourselves, and spiritual life. When we continue pushing all the time it upsets the balance in all these relationships.

Reflecting, resting, recovery allow us to look beyond our immediate goals and see something bigger.

We relieve the pressure we put on ourselves with fresh insights and understanding.

How will we explore our balance of reflecting, resting, recovery today?

When will we take time for reflecting, resting, recovery this week?

[Image by erix!]

Greg Richardson is a spiritual life mentor and coach in Southern California. He is a recovering attorney and a lay Oblate with New Camaldoli Hermitage near Big Sur, California. Greg’s website is StrategicMonk.com and his email address is [email protected].

Blog

Spiritual Practices

Previous Post

August 13, 2019

Listening to Sacred Stillness: Stillness Takes Us Beyond Our Fears

Next Post

August 20, 2019 Listening to Sacred Stillness: Listening Makes a Difference

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Blog Book Reviews Everything Else Guest Posts Leadership Monastic Strategies Neighborhood Pilgrimages Sacred Stillness Spiritual Direction Spiritual Practices Work

Select a Month May 2024 April 2024 March 2024 February 2024 January 2024 December 2023 November 2023 October 2023 September 2023 August 2023 July 2023 June 2023 May 2023 April 2023 March 2023 February 2023 January 2023 December 2022 November 2022 October 2022 September 2022 August 2022 July 2022 June 2022 May 2022 April 2022 March 2022 February 2022 January 2022 December 2021 November 2021 October 2021 September 2021 August 2021 July 2021 June 2021 May 2021 April 2021 March 2021 February 2021 January 2021 December 2020 November 2020 October 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 May 2011 April 2011 March 2011 February 2011 January 2011 December 2010

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

What Christian group requires its members to serve as missionaries?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Baptists Anglicans Latter-day Saints Jehovah’s Witnesses