What the World Needs Now Is Rest… More Rest

“The world won’t crumble if you rest, but you might if you don’t.”

Hey Love,

We’ve reached the time of year where the days are shorter, temperatures are colder, trees shed what they no longer need, and animals retreat. But even with the natural winding down that this season brings, we humans (well, not all of us, but you know what I mean) insist on speeding things up, cramming even more into our already packed schedules, and pushing through our fatigue in the name of strength, productivity, and responsibility.

However after having a dumpster fire of a year complete with unprecedented events, constant noise, nonstop doing, and trauma on top of trauma on top of trauma, we don’t need another push, plan, or surge of effort. What we really need is rest. Deep, intentional, restorative rest that grounds us, that supports us, that refreshes us, and that reminds us that we are more than what we carry.

Many equate rest with laziness, but that couldn’t be more untrue. Rest is an intentional pause. It stops overwhelm in its tracks. It’s how we rebuild what burnout has broken or taken away from us. And it’s one of the most profound forms of self-respect, self-love, and self-care for our minds, bodies, and spirits.

And as we enter a season that naturally calls us to reflect, release, and recalibrate, rest is even more essential. 

Much like we cannot pour from an empty cup, we cannot pour meaningfully into a new year, if we have not given ourselves the space to recover from the old one. And we certainly cannot get the clarity we need, if we’re constantly moving, constantly on the go, constantly juggling too much, constantly picking up after we have put something down. There is wisdom in slowing down and there’s a reason our bodies gravitate towards softness as the world grows colder. 

We need rest that does not wait for permission or perfect timing. And while vacations and spa days help, that’s not the kind of rest this season requires. We need rest that meets us where we are. Rest that looks like setting down a responsibility that you can no longer carry, let alone carry alone. Rest that looks like closing your eyes for a bit longer, choosing to silence the noise, and allowing yourself to feel what you have been avoiding. Rest that looks like dropping your shoulders, unclenching your jaw, removing your tongue from the roof of your mouth, breathing deeply, and honoring the parts of you that keep going even when you’re tired. 

This season, may you find calm in the places you once overlooked or ignored. May you give yourself permission to step back and simply be. May you understand the fact that true strength is less about how much you can do, as it is about acknowledging what you can not do. 

Rest is resistance. Rest is revolutionary. Rest is required. And you deserve it. No, you NEED it. You need to know that the world is not made better by your level of exhaustion, but by the way you honor your body by giving it the much-needed break that it is asking for. 

So take a breath, my love. Take a moment. And take your rest. 

With Love,

Racquel