Some of my warmest memories in later years of our shared contemplative silences or when she’d read to me at night or when I’d relax on her bed. When I lived and watched over her, she would often tell me to go rest. I would say I would and never did. I was too busy taking care of her and the hundreds of other details of daily living.
In the wake of her short illness and death, meditation fell by the wayside. When I sat, I would be flooded with memories of her last days that haunted me. All the darkness would rise up and I’d sit there weeping or staring out in pain. In the intensity of grief, I could no longer sit in meditation. I had to find a new way to rest, a way to slip into the deeper silent spaces and places, a way to revitalize my body, spirit and mind.
Then I could be more the witness to what would come to my life without running after my life. Without pursuing a goal or striving and driving myself so hard as I had for years before, which only resulted in exhaustion and breakdown. And so, in one quiet moment, the simple acronym for REST was born: Relax ~ Exhale ~ Surrender ~ Trust
Four simple and yet profound words that enabled myself and many others to find a deeper recess of peace within themselves during their very busy days. Four words that have helped hundreds of people pause to ask themselves what do they need right now? If you would like to understand rest and find a new way of thinking about this valuable every single day need, to include it in your life, there is a way. There is a way to give yourself permission to rest when the world mercilessly says to keep on going. There is a way to stop and discover what is right for you.
To learn more, visit the How to Rest Course:
www.ElizabethWelles.com/Rest