The High Cost of Constant Motion
Why Rest Is the Brake We Desperately Need
Can anyone ever be prepared for eclipse season? Or is that a fallacy because, every time, I get hit ten-love? March has been an INTENSE time, with emotions ranging from ecstatic productivity to dancing with shame, agony, and a twirl with enigmatic torture. Honestly, I’ve felt disheveled and beveled—teetering on the edge of chaos, with more chaos crashing in. Times like these call for Rest and Resourcing. And have I been resting? Absolutely not.
Each of us has tendencies, defaults, patterns that play out in our lives. Mine is control. I thrived on productivity. Since I was a young girl, my neurospicy brain assessed life, and my pattern recognition said, “Girl, if you want to be loved, appreciated, and approved of, you better be successful.” I saw that I needed to give the people what they wanted—the people being my parents, teachers, and anyone who crossed my path. I learned ALL the ways to be successful: top student, top academia, great in sports. I looked normal. I blended in. But this gave me a cum laude in controlling my environment through success. Being productive and finding the easiest and best way to do things became my obsession. I loved the high.
SONG: Listen to Rest’s Call
Listen as if Rest is serenading you, calling you closer.
The sad thing is that society venerates this. It loves it! You get approval, you get praise, heck, you get a smidge of love and adoration. But at a high price. Rest always comes to claim her debt.
And being a woman…
A woman who is cyclical,
Whose rhythm is synced with the moon and the trees,
Whose blood flows in the soil of today and tomorrow,
Whose round tummy soothes the lives of those she feeds,
Whose blood pulses with this life and the next,
Whose breaths comfort the dead and feed life,
Whose arms melt aches and the agony of living,
Whose hips store treasures awaiting release,
Whose feet remember the days gone by,
Whose lips awaken the warrior in those who listen…
We need to rest.
To flow with life and be connected to ourselves, our needs, and our desires so that we can show up for those around us. But we don’t. We don’t know how. Society tells us, “Be great. Do everything a man can and more. Be selfless. Give, give, give some more.” The moment you stop giving, you are not only bad—they say you are no longer a good woman.
Rest and women are synonymous. To be great, we need to be tapped into our inner wisdom and intuition. This is communion with God. This is communion with Life itself. This is beckoning Her. I love the discourse happening now, where women are realizing that being a woman is being one with God herself. That sweeping the floor, making a nourishing soup, and knowing when we are in danger are the acts of an awakened being—one already connected with God.
But no, we are fed shame and guilt. Instead of speaking up about our needs, we shut down and beat ourselves up like motivational speakers shouting affirmations: “This is not the best you can do. You can do better, only if we try. If you can think it, you can achieve it.” Damaging! We damage ourselves at the expense of others. We sacrifice.
But here’s the thing: Rest isn’t just about stopping. It’s about reconnecting—to ourselves, to our bodies, to the rhythms of life that society tries to drown out. It’s about remembering that we are not machines, but living, breathing beings who need care. Rest, my baby… She is a potent medicine, a strong teacher. Something a woman is initiated into.
I remember when I was young, in my 20s, we would joke that we were finally being forced to rest because we were sick—Rest had come for her debt. If you don’t pay Rest a visit, you’re going to pay for it. So we’d employ strategies to try and stop this, like spa dates or mornings off on the weekend. But is this even enough? Is this even rest?
As a postpartum doula and a mama, I’ve heard so many anguished cries from women who need rest and aren’t receiving enough support. They wish they could be admitted into a hospital asylum just to get some rest. Again, I say… If you don’t pay Rest a visit, you’re going to pay for it.
And I did. And other women do, too—through chronic illness and autoimmune diseases. So many studies now show the correlation between why women have more autoimmune diseases and trauma. Not resting enough is traumatic to the body. And then you start reaching perimenopause, well, well, well… you have a whole different body. If you coasted through before, Rest is coming for her price this time.
In the end, we all have to learn how to swallow a huge chug of rest somehow.
SONG: Listen to Rest’s Call
Listen as if Rest is serenading you, calling you closer.
Strategies for Rest
Here are some strategies for different types of rest if you haven’t started your own research:
Physical Rest: Sleep, naps, stretching, or yoga. Mental Rest: Meditation, journaling, or unplugging from screens.
Emotional Rest: Therapy, talking to a trusted friend, or setting boundaries.
Creative Rest: Engaging in activities that inspire you without pressure (e.g., painting, gardening).
Social Rest: Spending time alone or with people who recharge you.
Sensory Rest: Reducing stimuli (e.g., dimming lights, quiet spaces).
Spiritual Rest: Prayer, meditation, or connecting with nature.
Rest as Revolution
Rest isn’t just a pause—it’s a revolution. It’s a rebellion against a world that tells us to keep going, keep giving, keep proving our worth. But here’s the truth: You are enough, just as you are. You don’t have to earn your right to rest. It’s yours. You deserve to feel nourished, safe and rested. You deserve to give the love to yourself that you give to the people you love.
The Last Time You Truly Rested
So, I’ll leave you with this: When was the last time you truly rested? Not a hurried nap or a distracted scroll, but a moment where you let the world fall away and just breathed? If you’re struggling to answer, maybe it’s time to listen to Rest’s call. She’s been whispering to you for years. What would it feel like to finally answer?
Join the Conversation
Write in the Comments and tell me: What’s one boundary you can set this week to protect your rest? Is it a 10-minute walk in nature? A morning where you don’t set an alarm? Or maybe it’s saying no to something that drains you. Let’s build this conversation together. Share your stories, your struggles, and your wins. And if you’re ready to dive deeper, subscribe for more musings on rest, healing, and living unapologetically.
Rest isn’t just a gift to yourself—it’s a gift to the world. Because when you rest, you rise. And the world needs you at your fullest.
