Day 20 & 21 - Still Learning to Rest

I've never been particularly good at settling down and resting. There is a family anecdote that has been repeated often throughout my life that describes how my parents could never get me to rest as a kid, could never get me to lie down for a nap, or stay in bed beyond sunrise in the morning.

This is a behavior that, for the most part, remains in my DNA. Whether it's an evening of sitting around and reading, or a Saturday at the beach, or a weekend away (let alone something longer, like a week), if I don't have something to do, something that gets me moving and occupies my brain, something (often related to a computer unfortunately) that lets me feel productive even if it's actually having the opposite effect, I tend to be jumpy, nervous and scattered.

This weekend was an ongoing attempt, partly successful and partly not so much, at settling into rest mode. I spent time at a couple of soccer matches, did some shopping, some cooking, a little bit of reading, but still on both Saturday and Sunday I found it necessary to move to the electronic vortex and twiddle the keys.

One of the greatest lessons for me in this 40 Days is the need for downtime. My goal is to set Saturdays aside for some rest and some work (most particularly writing), a day for catching up AND settling down, with Sundays dedicated completely to rest, and rejuvenation (physical, mental and spiritual). In my wildest imagination I don't even look at a computer on Sunday, I take a "digital sabbath."

Like most of the other goals in the plan... I am definitely getting better at this... but I'm definitely not there yet.