DOWNSHIFTING WEEK - DAY 2 and 3

Sundays are considered to be a day at rest now, it has taken a while to get to grips with that concept but if it was was good enough for God to rest after creating heaven and earth for 6 days why on earth do I have a problem with it?
Rest does not always mean sleeping, rest is a pause.....a pause from what we do on a regular basis so that we can relax, assess and see what we are doing with our time and energy. A period of reflection.
The most I could hope for while I was working full time was either the weekend bridging one week with the next, where actually most time was spent organising things for the next week, catching up on socialising, shopping etc . Holidays also provided an idea for relaxation and reflecting on life, spending time with loved ones, but in general, it took me a week to relax and then a week to wind up again to the speed of work.What I learnt over the last few months is that a day of rest and reflecton allows us to nurture some of the parts in our life that we have pushed aside. This could be spiritual aspects of being human, it could be finding time to read the papers with a leisurely breakfast, spending time with the children, basically living in the here and now with the people we have relationships with. And that may include for some of spending time in a spiritual relationship.

If you have a homestead or some animals to look after, then of course routine does not stop on Sundays, it has to be done, but I urge you to look beyond that and give yourself some time....this is not the time to catch up on work for next week but time to give to yourself.
I really had a problem with this in the past, but slowing down has shown me that there is a need to give to myself and the other people in my life and as with everything, building it in your hectic schedule is the first thing to do.

I lazed about a bit, yes you heard me right, lazed about...that means doing things at my speed, slow shower, slow breakfast of pancakes, slow reading of a book, spending time with the children, a slow cooking casserole in the oven and generally putting my feet up.