A Day of Rest

I grew up in the Seventh-Day Adventist Church.  As the name suggests, we believe in the seventh day Sabbath, in other words, Saturday.  Growing up, we knew that from sundown Friday night until sundown Saturday night would be our Sabbath.  Of course, everyone honors the Sabbath in a different way—in my own family, it was a time for family.  No TV, no going out shopping, no working.  We spent those 24 hours together, actually together—eating, playing a game, going to church, going to the park, etc.  Now that I am a mother and have my own family, I try my hardest to instill in my boys this need to take a break from the world—to remember where we came from, to remember what’s really important in this life.  I take them to Sabbath School and church, we eat lunch with our entire family afterwards (yes, every Saturday!), and spend the rest of the day together—playing outside, going for walks, playing games, etc.

My post today is not just for Seventh-Day Adventists, or even just for Christians.  My point is to remind you that we all need a day of rest, whether it be for religious reasons or otherwise.  I recently read an article about Leelee Sobieski (the actress), who says that she and her boyfriend realized one day that they were spending too much time watching TV, checking their Facebook and email, etc.  I like the way she describes this—“..even when we were alone, we were never truly alone—our friends were always popping up in our in-boxes”.  So they decided that they would “unplug” themselves every Friday night until Saturday night (no phones, no TV, no internet, no work, no chores!).  Similar to my story, Leelee says that they started playing more games, taking more walks, etc., and she says that they started to feel refreshed by the break they had taken.

I think that the importance of some “un-plugged” time is highly overlooked in this world today.  We are slaves to technology—it’s on our computer, it’s on our phone, it’s always on our mind.  There are some great things being done with all of this new knowledge, but at the same time it’s so important to take a break.  I mean, do we really need to check our Facebook status or our email every hour?  If something is that important, I’m guessing that you will get the message somehow.  It’s about time that we started re-connecting with the real world—having actual conversations with people, spending time outdoors, or just sitting still long enough to hear our children laugh or share a good snuggle with our partner.

No matter what day you choose to rest on, just make sure you do it.  Make your own rules—maybe you can’t live without your phone ( I know I would never turn mine completely off, for fear of an emergency), but you could at least give people a heads up and say “hey, from Monday night to Tuesday night, we are taking a break, so unless you really need me, please don’t text or call”.  Believe me, people will understand—heck, you might even inspire them to do the same in their own life! 

Just give it a try—you will be amazed at how refreshed you feel, just like Leelee said in the article.  The thought of leaving a pile of emails until tomorrow might seem overwhelming, but if you are in a constant state of burn-out, the stack is never going to look or feel any smaller.  After a “day of rest”, you are much more prepared and focused, and the stack will disappear before you know it! (well, maybe not disappear completely, but you will see a dent, for sure!) 

I’d like to end with some more of what Leelee said in the article.  I was so glad to read this in Oprah magazine, because I really do think that this idea goes beyond the religious aspect.  Even though for me personally, I view the Sabbath as a day to worship God and be grateful for everything He has given us, that’s no reason that you can’t have a day of rest in your life that suits you.  Another thing that she said, about taking pictures of her daughter, really made me think:

“When I had my daughter…I started recording every funny or sweet thing she said or did on my phone.  But on one of our unplugged days, I realized I’d been so focused on capturing those moments that I hadn’t been feeling them.  I’d missed opportunities to connect with my daughter because my face was always hidden behind my cell phone.  Now when I see something beautiful or funny or sweet, sometimes I reach for my camera, but other times I think, I need to let this moment exist.  I don’t have to capture everything.  I just want to experience it.”

                                                                                                                (Oprah magazine, May 2012)

Do you and your family have a “Sabbath” or an “un-plugged day”?  What do you do on these days?  Why do you think they are so important for us to have?