Good Morning, TSJ Friends and Subscribers!
How would you describe what you feel like when you feel rested? Has it been awhile? If you take time to rest your body, mind, and spirit does it feel like you are robbing others or letting people down? Sometimes we lose track of our own selves in the demands of daily living. And we lose sleep. We cheat ourselves out of one of God’s most natural blessings!
This week’s midweek blog post is being published a day late. Some days in our lives seem like smooth sailing, others have ripples or even waves in them. Such days are reminders to surrender our frustrations and burdens to our Chief Shepherd and remain grateful as we watch for the often invisible graces that are always present. My internet was down due to a complication from finally burying my cable!
Perhaps learning to surrender is one of our most difficult lessons. We see ourselves as independent and we think of surrender in a negative way. Often we think of it as giving up or giving in.
One very common evidence of that belief system is our modern fixation on achieving and acquiring that leads to over extension of our bodies, minds, and spirits. And one thing we find most difficult to surrender is time . . . especially time for sleep. Even when we tell ourselves we are relaxing it often involves checking our gadgets that connect us with the world. At the same time, we consume caffeine and sugar to supposedly boost our energy and our ability to bypass sleep and “down time.” We think of sleep as an interference to what must be done. We almost cannot practice stillness. Our minds are wired and noisy.
We ignore important signals and push on and push through.
I have mentioned Arianna Huffington’s book, The Sleep Revolution. I was drawn to this book because she is a model of success, hard work, creativity, quality communication and commitment to excellence. She created the prestigious Huffington Post. And she reached a breaking point which has turned into a break-through. She was exhausted from lack of sleep and constant availability and fell asleep… cracked her cheekbone on her desk.
Arianna turned this personal experience into a profound awareness of the crisis of fatigue of our modern lives. She calls it a needed revolution. Many people could say the same thing a young woman told Arianna, “I don’t remember the last time I wasn’t tired.”
Arianna states in her introduction, “‘Why am I so tired?’ is the existential cry of the modern age.” And it is a global cry.
We are in a frenzy of hard work, over scheduled activities and inability to say no to good choices in order to say yes to self- care.
One of the privileges of being human is having a capacity to learn from others’ experience. Too often we believe we are different, though, and do not learn from others or from history.
It so happens this came to my attention as I was beginning to feel increasing concern as I talk with so many of you successful people. I see signs of such fatigue that people numb and unaware of their fatigue levels. In this state they do not realize how it affects their thinking, their lives, decisions and their work.
Further, I began to notice my own behavior. I was ignoring my own body rhythms. (Some people lack body awareness or even self -awareness so they are even more susceptible to ignoring signs of burn out.)
I happen to be aware of my need for sleep in general, but I was sneaking in extra time to be on-line or check Face Book or emails when I needed sleep more than connection or information. It is tempting because you can listen to podcasts, read email and articles after everyone else is either in bed (or doing the same thing you are.)
So, this past week I have made it a priority to go to bed on time and if I have not managed that I have even allowed myself a quick nap, if only in a parking lot. The Sleep Revolution has wonderful information and is very readable. There is a whole chapter on jet lag and naps.
Today I would like to encourage you to choose at least three nights a week in which you literally unplug in time to wind down and get sleep. Of course some of you are parents and that makes it very, very difficult. In that case, give yourself permission to nap when and if you can!
Finally, sleep is vital to be sure. But a restful sleep is more likely to happen if we understand the value of rest. Scriptures tell us that sleep is a gift from God and rest itself comes from a calm heart and mind, which comes from feeling safe. Only our personal Chief Shepherd has all the bases of our lives covered. The Spirit of God is always awake.
Sleep is important to humans. Scientific research says so. Common sense says so. Even God says so. It might help us to begin to see sleep as our ally and not something to resist. We need to make friends with sleep.
Arianna reminds us that we talk about a baby sleeping habits after birth and we talk about it at death … where generally we think the best way to move to “the other side” is “go peacefully in our sleep.”
Finally, Arianna says, “Solving our sleep crisis requires not just practical changes to how we approach our days and our nights, but also rethinking our priorities and our values.” (p.12)
I find both the idea of paying attention to getting rest and enough sleep a most practical form of living into our dreams of happiness, peace and hope.
May it be so for all of us this week.
Margie and Solomon
