Just Resting For Awhile

I have often found that right after I have completed a project or job I am not immediately ready to jump right into the next thing, especially if the thing just completed is out of the norm of how I usually spend my time. I think that part of the reason for this is, at least for me, the need to take stock again of where I have been, what I have been doing previously, and whether or not that has in any way changed me and my outlook on things. I don't believe in just being busy to be busy. To me "busy work" is exactly what it means: "work that keeps a person busy but has little value in itself." For that reason, when I am readjusting my days I may spend more time in contemplation and even research. But I have become trained not to stay sitting too long either. So I try to use some of this contemplative time to do useful things like cleaning and dusting, or, like on Thursday, pruning the tomato plants, things that I have known needed to be done but I couldn't quite work into my schedule as it had been. In recent years I have had a Fitbit watch and, most recently, an Apple Watch, both of which "nag" me to keep moving. The Apple Watch even sends me messages to make me feel a bit guilty if I am not living up to the standards of movement, exercise, and even standing that it thinks I should. While desirous of keeping moving and interested in how many steps can be logged in a day, I think we also need to be reminded that just resting isn't such a bad thing either. And I don't mean by taking a nap. I think sometimes we can rest best by taking a walk in the woods or just sitting and listening to good music while watching the sun rise or set or having a long conversation on the street with an old friend. I think such times allow us to think about where we are in life, what and who we value, and how best to move forward. The accompanying image, another one taken at Old Car City in the fall of 2016, makes taking a rest look easy. But I don't think doing so is easy, even in this pandemic year when our lives have become so circumscribed. We have been part of a world and culture that has been extremely fast paced, and like my Apple Watch, tells me it thinks I am a slacker when I may not be up and moving enough. Now it seems we have to "work" at resting or finding ways to rest and to find the peace that comes with it. What a pity!