Rest vs. Deactivation

It is my humble opinion that perhaps the biggest factor in our overall well-being is our ability to rest. But what is rest? In a sense it is a lack of activity, but when do we actually ever do nothing? Even while we’re sleeping our bodies are keeping busy. And here’s where it gets even stranger...being asleep doesn’t necessarily mean we are at rest physiologically speaking. We can be unconscious in our beds, while our bodies are in “fight or flight.” This could be you if you wake up tired, if you toss and turn throughout the night or if you grind your teeth while sleeping. Therefore, true physiological rest isn’t merely the cessation of activity. Let me try to explain using a cell phone as an analogy.

The goal behind human rest is restoration and rejuvenation. When you turn off your cell phone it’s technically at rest, but it isn’t rejuvenating. It must be reconnected to source in order to recharge.We aren’t that different. We recharge when we reconnect to our source of love, joy and peace. This is what energizes us and fills our tanks. Subsequently, when you connect to peace, you easily enter into physiological rest, not only while you sleep, but even while you’re at work, doing chores or stuck in traffic. 

We should think of rest as an active process and perhaps even a spiritual practice, so we can better connect to the infinite supply of love, joy and peace. I find it interesting that the Bible only instructs to work hard or strive for one thing, which is to “...strive to enter into that [God’s] rest.” (HEB 4:11) We can’t simply “turn off” and hope for the best. True rest, which is to say healing, comes from reconnection.