Don't Forget to Rest

 

One of my favorite things about living on the lake is watching the evening pontoon parade. It’s not a real parade, of course. But after dinner each night, I see them start to make their way around the lake. I haven’t learned them all yet, but I am sure by the end of the summer, I’ll be able to match the pontoon to the neighbor.

            They slice quietly through the water, waving as they make their way past our pier. No hurry. Just enjoyment.

            We wave back from our chairs overlooking the water, usually sipping coffee while we sit.

            We try not to think about our to-do list and instead embrace the opportunity to sit quietly and enjoy.

            We’re driven people. We love a good list and we love crossing off every item on that list. We love to make the most of the daylight hours. But we’re learning to rest. We’re learning to sit and wave. We’re learning to smell the freshly cut grass. We’re learning to shoot the breeze with the neighbors while they sit on their own patio.

            We remind ourselves that eventually darkness will fall early and the nights will be cold, and we’ll wish we could sit on the patio and wave at pontoons. So we choose to do it right now because we can.

            I’ll always love productivity and encourage people to embrace it, but this place is teaching me to remember rest. It’s teaching me to slow down and appreciate sunsets and rippling water.

            Next week you’ll come here and read about an update on my June goals and then I’ll share some for July. (I don’t even know yet what all that entails.) But even though I’m still making goals, I’m intent on remembering to rest.

            So for today, I encourage you to look away from the list and toward the rest – whatever that looks like for you. Make room for it. You’ll be so glad you did.