We often think of rest in terms of physical breaks – actually lying down, putting our feet up, breathing slowly, maybe cracking open a beer. While rest like this is vital, it’s at least as important to take a break from emotional drudgery and chaos. This year, I’ve been working on taking emotional breaks.
Boy, does that sound bogus! Catholics don’t have time for squishy, feel-good nonsense like that! We’re too busy with the salvation of our souls to worry about – ptui – “emotional rest,” right?
Well, let me tell you . . .
Read the rest of my latest at The Catholic Weekly.
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Image: Steve Snodgrass via Flickr (Creative Commons)
Comments are closed over there. I have trouble relating to the first two suggestions – I think it’s just because of how I’m wired. The third suggestion – handing everything over to Him is something that ebbs and flows with me. Sometimes I’m great at it, other times not so much. It’s a habit for sure. Something I’d add to the list is not to be an active part in other people’s drama. That was hard for me with some of my kids. I worked so hard on attachment (at least with the adopted ones) that it’s difficult sometimes to realize that a meltdown (or just general angst) really doesn’t involve me no matter how hard the child is trying to project onto me that it does. But throwing myself into the middle of my children’s pain was soulsucking. Remaining calm and recognizing their angst is not mine is a great emotional tactic for both me and my children. Sometimes that means stepping away and letting them figure it out on their own or with people other than me.
I totally did a double take and had to check the byline, because I never expected to read the word “mum” in one of your articles. I guess the Aussies translated it 🙂