Stop and Rest
Rest is a discipline for me. Stop for me is huge. So, the article below sparked a discussion. How do we stop, or do we? Is rest a state of comfort? Any comments on the article below?
Stop. Now.
Wayne Muller
There is astounding wisdom in the traditional Jewish Sabbath, that it begins precisely at sundown, whether that comes at a wintry 4:30 or late on a summer evening. Sabbath is not dependent upon our readiness to stop. We do not stop when we are finished. We do not stop when we complete our phone calls, finish our project, get through this stack of messages or get out this report that is due tomorrow. We stop because it is time to stop....The old, wise Sabbath says: Stop now. As the sun touches the horizon, take the hand off the plow, put down the phone, let the pen rest on the paper, turn off the computer, leave the mop in the bucket and the car in the drive. There is no room for negotiation, no time to be seduced by the urgency of our responsibilities. We stop because there are forces larger than we that take care of the universe. The galaxy will somehow manage without us for this hour, this day, so we are invited to relax and enjoy our relative unimportance, our humble place at the table in a very large world.
Stop. Now.
Wayne Muller
There is astounding wisdom in the traditional Jewish Sabbath, that it begins precisely at sundown, whether that comes at a wintry 4:30 or late on a summer evening. Sabbath is not dependent upon our readiness to stop. We do not stop when we are finished. We do not stop when we complete our phone calls, finish our project, get through this stack of messages or get out this report that is due tomorrow. We stop because it is time to stop....The old, wise Sabbath says: Stop now. As the sun touches the horizon, take the hand off the plow, put down the phone, let the pen rest on the paper, turn off the computer, leave the mop in the bucket and the car in the drive. There is no room for negotiation, no time to be seduced by the urgency of our responsibilities. We stop because there are forces larger than we that take care of the universe. The galaxy will somehow manage without us for this hour, this day, so we are invited to relax and enjoy our relative unimportance, our humble place at the table in a very large world.
posted by Shirley @ 6:23 AM
3 Comments:
At 10:37 AM,
teresa said…
For me, "Stop" implies stopping to smell the roses (more often than not) and stop to rest, relax and take stock of the moment. In our society, we are not encouraged to "stop" but to run, rush and "get things done" at the expense of our sanity and well being. Thank you for this reading and for reminding me how I need to "stop" to breathe and enjoy life more!
At 9:58 AM,
Jennifer said…
"Stop" is indeed hard. When I'm busy working on a project on the computer, I think to myself, "I'll stop in ten minutes." An hour goes by and I haven't even noticed. Thankfully there are things that cause me to pause and reflect and even rest. A plant that needs watering, a fountain or birdbath to fill, noticing the breeze playing with the aspens, seeing my sky chair waiting. This time of year I need these visual clues to slow down, take a break and regroup. These moments of sabbath, even though they are little close-ups, call me back to the larger picture and purpose. There's something peaceful and reassuring from God in them for me. What helps you?
At 11:38 PM,
Shirley said…
Today was a stop day for me. Taking a hike in the mountains, enjoying the wonders and beauty of nature, reflecting on how much I enjoy hiking and how much I miss it. Sometimes I forget to breathe, today I breathed, it helped.
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