When We Rest
It’s a Wednesday, and it’s about 2 PM, right between lunch and the end of another working day. An aching restlessness niggles deep within me.
I’m not sure if it’s a need to be somewhere else unfamiliar, a deep yearning to find a more fulfilling job, or a desire to meet new people, but the feeling just won’t leave. It affects my mood, how I'm interacting with other people, and my general perception of fulfilment.
The worse part is that it’s not the first time I’ve had this feeling.
Previously I tried to solve the problem by going on a holiday, searching for a new job, or plan something for the weekend, only to find myself in the same situation a few weeks later.
I’ve always seen living everyday as zoomed in, experiencing life only one moment at a time. These moments can be both exhilarating and difficult, where we celebrate small victories, and endure plenty of despair.
The only time we can zoom out is when we have a moment of reflection, where we can try to reach for past moments, or anticipate the days to come.
The exchange between zooming in and out leaves us sometimes nervous, or inspired. Nervous that we are somehow lost in mechanical clockwork of existence, or inspired that there is so much left to achieve, and we better get on with it.
Life is both, but never at the same time.
Whether we find ourselves zoomed out on a deep existential crisis, or zoomed in, crushing our daily goals, weariness hangs over us. If not immediately, it will eventually finds its way to deter us. But we shouldn't be discouraged too quickly, it’s just a reminder that these bodies need a moment to rest, and more importantly our souls (depending how you view them: materialistically, or metaphysically) need to be inspired yet again.
Everyone finds inspiration differently:
- Some travel
- Some spend time to themselves
- Some adjusts their goals
We can't forget that when we have rekindled the ember of inspiration deep within us, we have an opportunity to affect others: teaching someone something we have learned from our travels, sharing a revelation from our moment of solace, or simply being there for someone who is uninspired like us once.
The restlessness within us doesn’t last very long if we are constantly inspired, or inspiring others.
Words by S.I. Finlayson