Part of the way I make income from my little corner of the internet is by hosting other people's posts. Because I've been writing here for well over ten years, the site is well established and that makes it valuable to people who want to improve their own sites, or at least a page or two of it. Sometime's those posts can be dull (sorry) and sometimes quite interesting but yesterday I shared a post about prioritising self care which really spoke to me.
Much of the advice in the post was fairly obvious - make time for youself, do things you enjoy, set boundaries etc but one line really stood out for me.
Remember that rest doesn't need to be earned.
Until I read those words it hadn't occurred to me that I always justify (to myself as well as those around me) why I was sitting down, watching TV, taking a break, not cleaning the bathroom/kitchen/universe.
I felt like I needed to earn rest.
I mean, I still do, sort of, but I'm going to work on making that simple line my mantra. Along with "What's the worst that can happen" and "A life lived in fear is a life half lived."
As someone with Fibromyalgia this is a message I should have taken on board 20 years ago when I was first diagnosed but I am terrible at pushing through and then trying to push through the inevitable crashes which happen when I don't rest. But there's always so much to do isn't there?
Some of my happiest moments this year alone have been when I've been just sitting, enjoying a view (generally of the ocean which calms my soul.) not working and for a brief while, not thinking about working
Life is short, too short to not take time to snatch some rest whether you've earned it or not.