"Down Time" is Remarkably Uplifting

I recently returned from an 11-day vacation in Costa Rica with my husband. This was a real vacation. No computers. No cell phones. No plans for spiritual or work retreats. There was no one to meet and nothing to do but play for 11 days. I was so looking forward to it that I wasn’t expecting what happened two days into the trip.

The first two days were heaven. Still, there were work residuals, like walking into the hotel room and immediately wanting to check my email messages, or at least recharge my cell phone. However, being media deficient was easier to get over tha
I expected. In fact when three days into the trip we did stay at a hotel that had a computer for us to use, we shied away. We looked at the computer, looked at each other, crinkled our noses and said, “Nah.” Plugging into electronic media was like hooking into an alien world after returning from a walk in the cloud forest.

We adjusted to our electronic media withdrawal very quickly. But, what I didn’t expect was a creeping feeling that something was missing. Something very important was gone, and while I was loving the trip and being with my husband, I felt a bit empty. After two days of internal query I pinpointed what I felt I was missing. I was having work withdrawal. Not the type of work where I’m answering emails, calls, working on the computer. The type of work where I feel I’m making a difference in the world and growing. I felt that I was doing nothing to improve myself. I brought an empty journal expecting to have great insights and breakthroughs. Nope, I didn’t have any. My only activities were hiking, resting, eating, loving, bird watching, (yes, I admit I’m a bird watcher) and getting massaged. What was the purpose of all this? A part of me needed a purpose in order to feel fulfilled.

“Can’t you just be happy enjoying yourself?” I asked me. “No”, the nagging feeling said. “I need to produce and expand.” I lived with this feeling for about a week – not giving it much fuel, but aware of it. One night in desperatio
I turned inward to a spiritual guide within for insight on this issue. The voice within said, “You feel that unless you’re moving forward in life you’re not doing anything. But you are doing something. You’re resting. You’re taking a break. You’re recharging. Without this you wear down. Relax. You are not failing.”

OK. I felt better now. I was relaxing. At least that was SOMETHING. I was able to let go and allow this to happen. Once I got into the “down” time something became very clear. I was filling up. I thought I filled myself up with my work and my learning. But this was a different type of fuel. I was nourishing my body and the rest of me on a deep level. The forward movement had stopped and this felt strange. Then the dust settled and I saw the meaning and importance of rest.

Weight lifters know that it’s important to rest muscles a day between workouts. What happens? During the off day the body recuperates and builds upon the areas that were stressed during the workout. In sleep we process the day’s activities and wake up to a new day. We take time between eating to digest. We also need time in our lives to digest what we’ve experienced and learned – time to assimilate this learning into our deepest self.

11 days and I had a remarkable trip. I was full of nature – monkeys, sloughs, birds, plants, trees, rivers, rain . . . I had been nurtured in the same way the rain forest is nurtured every hour by a shower. And when this dust settled I could see who I was and who I had become after completing all of my hard work.

I now have respect for my down time. I try to breathe between appointments and calls. I allow myself to sleep in and even wander out onto the porch at times to sit and look at the flowers and listen to the birds in my yard. When I return to work I’m refreshed and more productive.

I know there’s still a part of me that believes that I must be productive in order to belong. I’m now learning the importance of taking time for rest and appreciation of all that’s happening around me. I do belong no matter what I do and am more uplifted when I revel in my “down time.”

If you'd like assistance with creating more valuable time in your life, contact me at debhill@theawarenessinitiative.com.