Barbara Bredell-Searle

As I am writing this self-care topic on “Rest.” I cannot help myself from smiling and thinking about one of my neighbors who we called Grandma. Grandma would sit on her porch when the weather was nice outdoors or sit by her front window inside and watch me for years always on the move. When I use to see grandma, I would walk across the street to say hello and the first thing she used to say to me was, “You work too much, you go too much, you need to sit and rest.”  I would smile and say, “I am fine Grandma, I do rest,” but then I would leave and go and do and go and do.

It’s been four years since Grandma passed away at the age of 94 and when I look out my window or leave my house to run an errand, I remember those words as if she was still there sitting in her chair on her porch saying to me “You need to rest.” Now, I am sad to say, that it has taken me a few years to really hear and understand what Grandma was really saying.

Lately I have been experiencing some health issues with vertigo/dizziness that has made me slow down and “Rest.” Now, when I say rest, I do not mean laying in the bed and sleeping for an extended number of hours, or taking a nap on the couch which does sound good right now. No, I am talking about just sitting, just watching what is around me, telling my body its ok not to move. Telling my eyes to look at the sky as I am sitting on the front porch and watching the birds fly around or perching themselves on a tree branch, telling my ears to listen to the sounds of the passing cars, or children’s voices in the distance somewhere or using my nose to smell the aromas from my neighbors kitchen as they are preparing meals; That is resting.

Here I go smiling again, because just thinking about sitting and watching things around me is just helping me see that I just need to slow down and rest. I have always been on the go but when I ask myself why, I can’t answer it. Maybe the answer is that I think that I will miss something if I slow down. Wait, I am missing something when I am on the go. I am missing life.

Life goes by so fast. As adults when we blink an eye it seems like an entire year has come and gone, I hear people say including myself, “I wish I could be a child again, just for a short time.” Why do I say that? Well for me it is, because when I look at children, they are in the moment. They are living their lives one moment at a time. They do not have a “to do” list or agendas to follow, no, they are enjoying life and resting and taking one day at a time.

I am going to challenge myself and if anyone would like to join me, it would be great! I am going to take thirty minutes each day to just sit and enjoy what I see, hear, smell, and maybe even touch and taste. I want to start sitting, resting and enjoying what is around me. Rest is not a mindfulness activity; REST is a present that is given to us each day if we accept it and enjoy the beauty of what is around us.