Rest

When I was a teenager there was a Kitkat commercial airing that went something like this:

1st guy to 2nd guy: “What’re you doing?”

2nd guy: “I’m taking a break.”

1st guy: “What are you taking a break from?”

2nd guy: “Nothing.”

1st guy: “Then how do you know you’re taking a break?”

2nd guy: “I’m having a Kitkat. Have a Kitkat, have a break.”

Admittedly it was a corny ad, but it’s stuck with me, especially the question “how do you know you’re taking a break?” What are the differences between working and taking a break? The implication in the ad is that the line between (not, as the case may be) working and actively not working (taking a break) can be hard to spot. In the ad that line is drawn by the eating of a Kitkat bar, a “practice” that signals “taking a break.”

Which made me wonder what practices do I use to signal to myself (if no one else) that I’m taking a break/day off/holiday?

For some reason all my non-work days end up filled with non-work related work. Errands to run, personal projects around the home to complete, generally just a lot of stuff to do. How do I take a break from that stuff?

This is where I find rules to be helpful; or rather the notion of monastic rules. Monasteries typically have a “rule,” a code of practice and discipline designed to give definite shape to the community to grow or mature in a specific way.

I find the idea of a “rule of rest” to be helpful because I’ve grown up in a culture where the standard code of practice is to always be “on.” I need another rule. A counter code of practice to guide my body, mind, and spirit to rest and find renewal.

Here’s my little:

My Rule is an evolving set of practices that provides guidance and direction. It serves me, I don’t serve it. I expect that in the coming years this code will continue to grow and change, much as I will, and I hope it will help me to do so.

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