"Be careful not to let busyness crowd out moments of stillness, beauty, and appreciation. It is these moments that make life worth living."
-Ed and Deb Shapiro
Our world is restless and it never ceases. We take delight in 15-minute meals and 60-hour work weeks. Even in our moments of rest and silence, our minds seem to be racing 100 miles per hour and we still have the means to check in on the world surrounding us through technology and apps such as Snapchat and Instagram. How often when we sit down after a long day or take a "break" from studying or rest in between classes do we resort to Netflix, turn on a movie, or fill our brains with endless social media posts> Our minds require distractions, stimulation, and validation in order to keep them entertained because it is no longer enough to just be still. We have simply lost the art of silence and the Sabbath has become a dying practice of the past.
When did our world begin to feel guilty for resting and unplanned chunks of idle time? Rest in our ever changing world has developed a negative connotation. Society has given us the misconceptions that if we aren't busy...
...then we are not going to be successful.
...then we are wasting away our time.
...then we are not as valuable.
...then we are not going to be happy.
In reality, this is the opposite of the truth. Being busy is actually what drains our joy because we are constantly striving to achieve happiness for our future instead of being present to what's in front of us.
In Hebrew, the word "Sabbath" means rest. Isaiah 58:13-14a says, "If you keep your feet from breaking the Sabbath and from doing as you please on my holy day, if you call the Sabbath a delight and the Lord’s holy day honorable, and if you honor it by not going your own way and not doing as you please or speaking idle words, then you will find your joy Lord." The Sabbath or resting was supposed to be delighted in! The origin of rest can be tracked back all of the way to the creation of the world when God took a day of rest after the he spent 6 days creating the earth (Genesis 2:3). God did not intend for the Sabbath to be a burden, rather a delight and way for our souls to be restored.
We must change our view of rest that society has cast upon on our eyes and remain confident in the fact that without stillness, we are unable to grasp the goodness and beauty of life and our creator. It doesn't need to be a rigid process that just exists on Sundays. Sabbath can be obtained on any day, anywhere, and at any time, as long as you are finding stillness and peace in your spirit and mind. This could mean setting your phone aside for two hours or even turning it off for a whole day (how crazy is that). Rest doesn't take just one shape and size it can be anything from a long run to sitting in nature watching the sunset with your life long best friends (pictured above) to just being still in your room. Above else it It is imperative that we find our form of rest amongst our restless world, so we may be reminded of the beauty, joy, and moments that make life worth living.
