What this names is not rest, but permission. Not the personal kind, but the structural one. The difference between choosing to pause and being held by a life that allows it. When rest has to be earned, bodies don’t recover, they comply, they stay alert. Fragmented. Useful. A system that treats rest as a reward will always call exhaustion a personal failure. This isn’t about slowing down.
It’s about what collapses when we never land inside ourselves.
I love this post, Zoe. I also am reminded of the idea that rest is resistance, resistance against a capitalist society that insists we are constantly 'on'. Thank you for the reminder of how rest is a basic human right and one that all of us should embrace rather than feel as though we have to earn.
The system is designed to keep us exhausted: only a rested mind can think clearly, which leads to making choices out of opportunities, a constantly stressed mind defaults to choosing survival.
Giving ourselves permission to rest, without guilt, as you said, is the biggest middle finger we can give to the very systems that want us to play small.
I’m not sure when sleep became so unavailable for so many. Like when was the tipping point for sleep deprivation and tiredness as a normal part of life. More research needed!
It’s this exact feeling/response/experience I was pondering a lot. I believe it has a healthy dimension when it comes from passion (if it doesn’t tip into obsession), but what about when it’s just for the sake of being on, plugged-in, available and working hard / keeping busy? What then? Does that life have a depth and a groundedness? Is it enjoyable?
Yes!!! Exactly. Rest not as assimilated but only experienced at the surface - because the body gives up (biological), not because the mind and spirit land into deep renewal. There’s this notion that we run on batteries and a quick plug in will be adequate. It just leads to deficiencies in being.
What this names is not rest, but permission. Not the personal kind, but the structural one. The difference between choosing to pause and being held by a life that allows it. When rest has to be earned, bodies don’t recover, they comply, they stay alert. Fragmented. Useful. A system that treats rest as a reward will always call exhaustion a personal failure. This isn’t about slowing down.
It’s about what collapses when we never land inside ourselves.
- Double🆔️
Brilliant.
No rest for the wicked, as they say.
Modern life made us all busy bodies, set out to prove (at least on social media) how busy (but not necessarily productive) we are.
If you have the luxury, unscheduled breaks are the best.
I loathe the glorification of busy.
I love this post, Zoe. I also am reminded of the idea that rest is resistance, resistance against a capitalist society that insists we are constantly 'on'. Thank you for the reminder of how rest is a basic human right and one that all of us should embrace rather than feel as though we have to earn.
Ooh yeah. I love rest as resistance. And not just as a momentary thing but as an act of choosing the periphery.
Love reading everything you wrote here, Zoe.
The system is designed to keep us exhausted: only a rested mind can think clearly, which leads to making choices out of opportunities, a constantly stressed mind defaults to choosing survival.
Giving ourselves permission to rest, without guilt, as you said, is the biggest middle finger we can give to the very systems that want us to play small.
Love this. Yes and yes. Being plugged in and exhausted keeps us scattered, distracted and de-centred.
A stable rested self is powerful.
This not the way most of feel in today's society. Why is it that we feel shame or guilt for just taking a moment for ourselves?
I am locking in rest to my daily routine and habits. Thank you. ✌️😌
It’s so good to hear! A great way to integrate rest with habit stacking.
Great post, Zoe! not only are humans sleep deprived, we are now rest deprived!!
I’m not sure when sleep became so unavailable for so many. Like when was the tipping point for sleep deprivation and tiredness as a normal part of life. More research needed!
Maybe when smart phones came out??
I feel another article in the making.
🤔 researching and presenting the idea when sleep deprivation and being tired was considered normal or a badge of honor
It’s this exact feeling/response/experience I was pondering a lot. I believe it has a healthy dimension when it comes from passion (if it doesn’t tip into obsession), but what about when it’s just for the sake of being on, plugged-in, available and working hard / keeping busy? What then? Does that life have a depth and a groundedness? Is it enjoyable?
Yes!!! Exactly. Rest not as assimilated but only experienced at the surface - because the body gives up (biological), not because the mind and spirit land into deep renewal. There’s this notion that we run on batteries and a quick plug in will be adequate. It just leads to deficiencies in being.