Hope Writer Challenge - Rest

Originally written on May 15th, for the @hopewriters writing challenge the prompt was Rest.

Reimagining 2020 for the #hopewriterlife challenge with the theme Rest almost felt comical for a moment.  We are all stuck indoors, we have plenty of rest.  But the more I think about it the less I feel that's true.  We have plenty of time in isolation, but it is restful?

It has definitely not all been restful for me.  I've had long anxious nights that never seemed to end and some days have been full of nervous pacing.  Fearing for the safety of myself, my family and friends has not made me feel as though I've enjoyed a long rest these last few months.

I have also been taking the time to do more art and writing and that has been rejuvenating for me.  But that can also be work.  Creative endeavors have always been a dilemma in that way.  I need the creative thing to unwind, but then I also most rest from it.  It's rather like the dilemma of a cat's life.

Cats spend most of the day napping, which is such exhausting work that they must then spend the majority of the night napping too.  I find that I am completed to both create, or write, and then to consume voraciously someone else's creations and writing.  I need to see pretty things and read pretty words to fill my well up before I can go back to writing.

In other words I often need a rest from my restful activities much the way I think we all need a rest from our isolation and inactivity.  This weekend I'm cooking up new ways for me to change my routine and break my isolation without disobeying the rules.

If you could reimagine 2020 with more rest, what would it look like for you?

Now, in light of recent unrest and troubling conversations, remember that however worthy the cause and fight, you must also rest.  You cannot wear yourself out.  You must rest, and that involves being kind enough to yourself to give yourself a mental break.  Of course you are sad and angry, you are human and it's good that you feel for the plight of your fellow man, but staying unrelentingly angry and sad for weeks at a time is injurious to your health.  Give yourself permission to rest, to not watch the newsfeeds for a day, to not engage in difficult conversations for a day, to breathe deeply and remember that having breath is a gift.  Come back to the fight tomorrow with more rest and more strength.