Embracing Rest: Reflections on the Gift of Unhurried Time

As I write this, I'm on day 22 of a 24-day vacation with my husband to celebrate our 30th wedding anniversary. A trip of this length is rare for us. In fact, it’s the longest vacation we’ve ever taken—and the longest time we’ve both spent away from work. And it’s been nothing short of wonderful.

We’ve truly given ourselves the gift of rest—both for our minds and bodies. I’ve walked every day, and I've also allowed myself plenty of time to simply rest. I had imagined that I would read and write every day, but the reality has been that my body needed much more downtime than I anticipated. So instead, I’ve spent my days soaking up the sun, listening to music, and savoring good coffee.

For the first time in memory, I’m at peace with the idea of returning home in a few days. Typically, the end of a vacation brings sadness and a sense of longing for more time away. But this time, the thought of returning home brings with it a sense of contentment and joy.

I fully recognize the privilege of being able to take this kind of time off. Not everyone has that luxury. In fact, for many years—due to family, work, and financial constraints—we weren’t able to take extended breaks. This trip is a result of creative planning, and I treasure it deeply.

Yet, the older I get (and perhaps wiser?), the more I see the importance of truly unplugging. Whether it's for a few minutes, a few hours, or an entire day, I believe it’s essential to create moments that are unhurried and unstructured.

Life, especially in our fast-paced, demanding North American culture, often leaves little room for true rest. Looking back, if I could change one thing about my earlier years, it would be that I wouldn’t have waited for space to open up in my life—I would’ve created it intentionally.

When our children were young—four kids in five years—life was intense, and I had to find small ways to take breaks, even if it was just 15 minutes at a time. Looking back, those little moments of rest were essential for my well-being, helping me navigate those challenging early years of motherhood.

However, it’s only in recent years that my husband and I have started carving out regular days with little structure and few demands. These slower, more intentional days have been transformative. I do wish I’d prioritized this kind of time earlier, but it’s never too late to learn and create new rhythms.

Wherever you are in life, whatever your responsibilities or circumstances, I encourage you to ask yourself: How can you make space for rest and restoration in your daily life?

There will be special moments when we can take long breaks, but more often than not, it’s about finding ways to build rhythms of rest into the routine of our everyday lives.

Social psychologist Adam Grant notes, "Regular breaks are vital to well-being."

So, as you reflect on your own life, here are a few questions to consider:

• Where can you ease the demands on your time? If you’re not sure, ask yourself what you’re saying "yes" to—and what you're saying "no" to in the process.

  
  

• How can you incorporate regular rhythms of rest into your day? Maybe it’s sitting down with a cup of tea or coffee for 15 minutes instead of rushing through your day. Perhaps it’s taking a few moments to decompress between tasks.

  
  

• Where in your week can you create unhurried spaces—moments that don’t demand anything, but simply allow you to be?

We can all create ways to nurture rest, no matter where we are in life.

~ Haide

Some quotes about rest to inspire and encourage:

"Rest is not idleness, and to lie sometimes on the grass under trees on a summer's day, listening to the murmur of the water, or watching the clouds float across the sky, is by no means a waste of time."

~ John Lubbock, The Use Of Life

"Every person needs to take one day away. A day in which one consciously separates the past from the future. Jobs, family, employers, and friends can exist one day without any one of us, and if our egos permit us to confess, they could exist eternally in our absence. Each person deserves a day away in which no problems are confronted, no solutions searched for. Each of us needs to withdraw from the cares which will not withdraw from us."

~ Maya Angelou, Wouldn't Take Nothing for My Journey Now

"She stared at the stars like they were pillow for her mind and in their light she could rest her heavy head."

~ Christopher Poindexter