Courageous rest by Thomas Merton.
To allow oneself to be carried away by a multitude of conflicting concerns, to surrender to too many demands, to commit oneself to too many projects, to want to help everyone in everything, is to succumb to the violence of our times.
Some of us
need to discover
that we will not begin
to live
more fully
until we have the
courage to do and see
and taste and experience
much less than usual....
There are times
when in order to keep
ourselves in existence at
all we simply have to sit
back for a while and
do nothing.
And for a person
who has let themself be drawn
completely out of themselves
by their activity,
nothing is more difficult
than to sit still and rest,
doing nothing at all.
The very act of resting is
the hardest and most
courageous act a person can
perform.
Visit merton.org to discover more about Thomas Merton.
The way of rest.
Few of you know I currently am experiencing a flare up of M.E., combined with adrenal suppression. Fewer of you still, understand what this means in terms of life impact.
It's not an easy combo. No matter how hard I might try to avoid it, I must learn, once again, what it is to rest. It takes courage and trust to rest.
I'm working on a sharing of the way of rest, to be delivered either alone, or better still, with the company of dear friends. Anyone else interested in collaborating to share this way of rest, please get in touch via email.
Laying flat out today, deeply exhausted, listening to my beating heart, I came across this, from the Christian contemplative, monk, priest, poet and author, Thomas Merton. He puts into words what I know to be true in my heart.
Follow your heart, be courageous, even if that means to rest. Especially if that means to rest. When I tell you that I became bedbound and housebound in 2000, for 7 years, because I did not rest well enough following illness, I can tell you that there is no price worth trading for rest, when it is needed.
It took enormous bravery to share these words with you today, but share them I must. Because when others cannot hear me, I know there are many more like me out there who need to hear them. Both the unwell and the well, and our families and friends.
Do whatever it takes, be brave, dear friend. Without you, the world will be one good person short.
Love,
Andō
_
Ph. Alexander Possingham.