Immeasurably Productive

Is it just me or do you sometimes find it hard to relax? 

I adore letting loose, having adventures and laughing until I’m in tears. It just that sometimes I want so much done. I wonder, how is that I have taken care of enough that I can spend an entire Saturday accepting my kids’ requests to play boardgames, play tennis, enjoy a book curled up on the couch, and watch a movie. It feels like a big trust-fall exercise. 

Indulging in these days reminds me that it’s not an indulgence at all but an essential part of living. These ‘indulgence’ days energize me. I return to my work with a vigor and efficiency that I can hardly believe. And so, I’ve begun to trust in the them. 

I am reminded that living is about meeting my basic needs – all of them. On top of work (which I have always valued), is rest and play. Embracing this trifecta has brought about some pleasantly surprising feelings for me. I have accomplished more, stressed less, and felt more fulfillment and joy in the life I have right now. 

So much hangs in those last few words. I spent a good many years working, planning and dreaming about a life that was to come. Always feeling like some future final destination was around the corner made it impossible to appreciate all that was in front of me. 

Ever notice that our current culture claims to value hard work, but what it’s secretly claiming in our souls? Our society is coaxing us, ever so gently, to shift from human being to human doing (which is to say, a robot). 

Our lives look more and more mechanical. We tie our productivity to our worth. Many of our goals are focused on consumption (media, social media, goods and services) that leave us empty. When we stop valuing, and making time for, play and rest along-side our work, we stop valuing what it means to be human. In this state, we accept a life where we work for weekends, vacations, and retirement. 

We block off the largest portion of our life to be in a perpetual ‘on’ mode. The carrot of rest dangling just behind that next shiny object (a better job, bigger house, nicer car, more stuff). We keep promising ourselves we will grab hold of that carrot and finally start enjoying the fruits of our labor. We keep promising ourselves that the next thing we attain will finally bring us fulfillment/joy/peace...

I know because I lived this. I also know there’s an alternate path. It takes time, trust, and patience. It takes a willingness to let go of old beliefs. It takes courage to embrace a new perspective. It also only takes a desire. A desire to take the first step, then the next, until you believe that the only way to keep giving is to nurture the self. Investment in the self is a choice to create the most fertile ground for giving, creating, sharing, producing, and living. 

Though rest and play lack a measurable output, they are absolutely productive elements. They nourish us, allowing for a positive life experience that makes us expansive. Joy wants to be shared. So, if you want to give more, make more, serve more, be more – invest in rest and play. You may not be able to measure or quantify it, but you can definitely feel it.