First Day - The Secret Of RestSýnishorn

Rest Is Emotional

“Come with Me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest.” (Mark 6:31)

Why a quiet place?

Jesus wanted them to get away from the hustle and bustle, the demands, the suffering, and the need-driven agenda of the baying crowd. He wanted them to go somewhere where their emotions and minds could unwind and have a few precious moments without demand.

We all need this. In our modern world with its improvements in communications, there is a possibility of always being on call. Text messages and emails relentlessly beamed to our smartphones have increased the amount of information we have to process in an average day and make us accessible all the time. The temptation is thinking we cannot live without all these things … but we can!

If I’m busy, it means I’m important, right? Even if that were true (and it isn’t), we can’t be busy all the time. Holidays, rest days, sessions away from the demands, allow our emotions to heal, rest, and recover. Rest allows us to come to the place of who we are, outside of our important job or never-ending demands.

When we visit the cinema, we’re asked to turn our phones off, so as not to disturb others and distract ourselves. A few glorious moments when demands are put on hold can make a world of difference to our souls.

What if we banned phones from the dinner table?

What if we went for a walk and left our phone behind?

What if we enjoyed the gym and left our phone in the locker?

What if we went to bed and turned our tech off?

Just because we can doesn’t mean we should. Just because our world pings, rings, and vibrates doesn’t mean we have to obey. Rest challenges the idea that our worth is found in our busyness and that the demands placed on us constitutes our destiny. Without the moments when we can slacken the bow of our minds, we may snap. We must find a place and a way of allowing our emotions and our minds to rest and relax, for in this oasis of tranquillity we can discover new strength and creativity.