A People Yearning For Rest
Is This An Adulting Pandemic?
There had never been, nor would there be a Thursday like that, the 15th of August, when your favorite author, the Acing Scholar, made a grand entry into the earth. It lived to be called a happy birthday.
On this auspicious day, I am going to share with you the thoughts that labored my mind just two days ago.
This post is inspired by three ladies resting at a non-designated roadside park on a Sunday afternoon. Maybe they're simply observing a religious command to rest on Sunday. They don't seem to be talking to each other, even though they don’t look like they are strangers to each other. Each seems deeply absorbed into thoughts. Maybe retrospection. Maybe prospecting. Maybe regretting. Maybe just zoning out.
Whatever the reason, they have decided to leave their concrete walls and seek the open air to see off the worn-out week. They must be looking for new energy to dive into the cares of the virgin week.
I completely relate with them. Their little escape from adulting. Their intentionality to seek sanity in a busy life is very close to home. To me, it speaks of a yearning for rest. And I think it is beautiful.
Photo: The unconventional roadside park where the three ladies were resting.
I've been in this situation many times. In fact, it defines my daily life. At one point, I wondered whether this was an early midlife crisis. There is a constant hurry to seek after the cares of life. I have wondered whether it gets easier. My friend Mable tells me it doesn't, unfortunately. You only learn to cope.
At this point, I feel like Mable is not realistic. She should be giving me hope, but she serves reality. I think I can trust her experience as she has seen better days than myself. Add to her seasoned career as a psychologist. Trust me; she knows this stuff.
Again, I relook at the three restful ladies. I think they're cooling off their heels from the week's runs. I also realize theirs is not a unique thing. Everyone else in the city seems to be cooling off their week, albeit differently for each one.
Right nearby, some are holding to their cold beers, while several others in the near and far neighborhoods are in theme parks, shopping malls, indoors in their apartments, maisonettes, and hostels. Others are still in church; it's a Sunday, after all.
It's just how life is. A forest has many trees; some are extra healthy, others emaciated. Some are tall, while others are short. Some survive under the shade of the tall ones, while others suffocate from the lack of direct sunlight blocked by the tall trees.
It looks like a contrast of classes; the low, middle, and high classes. Sociologists will tell you it's a widening gap between the haves and have-nots. It's an economic divide. However you look at it, all humanity is suffering from the lack of enough rest. A people yearning for rest.
Where does rest come from, then? What can one do to rest? If there is no promise that it gets better with time, can you, at least, promise me that one can afford to slow down and catch a breath? Is all the hurry in life worth it? I hope you do not expect me to answer these questions. I don't have the right answers yet.
Regardless, one thing I am sure of is that there is a promise of rest. In fact, God has commanded rest for man from His immeasurable wisdom, understanding, and love for mankind. On the seventh day, He rested too. Don't feel guilty about taking a rest. In fact, plan for your rest. Take rests purposely.
Like I told you, there's a promise of rest. And here is the promise: Let us, therefore, be diligent to enter that rest… Hebrews 4:11.
Do you yearn to rest from adulting? What are you currently struggling with that’s keeping you in a constant rush? What do you wish you rested from? How do you take a break from the pursuit of happiness? Please share your experiences and insights.
Thank you for reading my thoughts and celebrating my birthday with me.