31 Days: Giving myself permission to rest

I was attending a training course and one of the activities involved choosing which type of an animal you were. There were four animals to choose from: eagle, hare, tortoise … I forget the fourth one. Each animal was associated with a description of the way a person functions. The two I remember were the hare and the tortoise. The hare was fast and flexible. The tortoise was slow, methodical, with an eye for detail. 

I nominated hare, because I could be fast and flexible. And I thought that was more important than being slow and detail-oriented.

I stood with all the people who chosen the hare, thinking that while I could function like a hare when required that really I was more like a tortoise. If I had been more honest with myself I would have been standing with the one person in the group who had chosen the tortoise.

That was years ago, but I still catch myself trying to function like a hare. Fast and flexible. And exhausting – especially if you aren’t designed that way. 

I’m still learning how to incorporate rest into my day. And the first thing is to give myself permission for rest. Rest that is refreshing and makes work sustainable and productive. Even when there are unfinished tasks – perhaps especially when there are unfinished tasks.

Are you trying to be someting you’re not? Are you giving yourself permission to rest?

This is Day 7 of The Rhythm of Rest series (Write 31 Days challenge).