Because we do not rest, we lose our way. We miss the compass points that would show us where to go, we bypass the nourishment that would give us succor. We miss the quiet that would give us wisdom. We miss the joy and love born of effortless delight. Poisoned by this hypnotic belief that good things come only through unceasing determination and tireless effort, we can never truly rest. And for want of rest, our lives are in danger.

Wayne Muller

Welcome to Day Three of Live Your Life As a Sacred Pilgrimage

No matter how well someone prepares for a pilgrimage, there will be days when the journey holds more challenge than ease, more loss than gain, more grief than joy. Even on a sacred path, the pilgrim must pause in the face of bad weather, injury, or difficult news received on the trail. Parker Palmer reminds us that these difficulties can sometimes be the very things that help us find our way. He writes, “Treacherous terrain, bad weather, taking a fall, getting lost — challenges of that sort, largely beyond our control, can strip the ego of the illusion that it is in charge and make space for the true self to emerge. If that happens, the pilgrim has a better chance to find the sacred center he or she seeks.”

The challenges faced on a pilgrimage are a pretty good representation of those we each face in our own lives. As much as we want to delight in life’s gifts, there are times when our burdens make for a heavy load or it may feel that we’ve lost our way. Rather than charging forward, clinging tightly to your map and compass in the midst of the storm, sometimes the only thing to do is stop and rest. If life is a sacred pilgrimage, then you are a sacred traveler through it — deserving of care and tending, deserving of the opportunity to rest and reorient when weary. Nearly every religion has some kind of sabbath built into its rituals, affirming that to rest is a way to honor the life you’ve been given and to respect the body’s limits and the heart’s wounds.

Today’s Practice: Honor the Need for Deep Rest

For today’s practice, we invite you to reflect and act in response to the invitations in Nadine Pinede’s poem, On Safety. To set the stage, take a few minutes to read the poem; you might read it once silently and once aloud.

On Safety

by Nadine Pinede

When the storms of life
come bearing down
threatening to
lash you senseless,
seek shelter.
Find the warm
blanket you caress
like the felted fur
of your cat
curled before
a glowing hearth,
of breath that fills
both heart and earth.
Breathe.
There’s always time
to curse the darkness.
After the tears,
light a honeycomb candle
and heal your own sun.
The bridge
from sorrow to joy
may seem to vanish
in the flood,
but who says you
can’t join those
who cross over,
with a single
braided rope
of gratitude.

Once you’re familiar with the poem, try the following practice as a way to rest and reorient when weary.

Step One: Seek Shelter

Choose a form of shelter that you need right now — some way of slowing down and allowing yourself to rest. Using the following list for inspiration, take one small step to give your heart shelter and rest.

  • Take a nap, or simply close your eyes for 5 full minutes and breathe
  • Cancel a plan that is one thing too many
  • Pause your news intake or stay off social media for the day

Step Two: Heal Your Own Sun

The poet reminds us that we have resources to lean on, ways to “heal our own sun.” Choose one simple action, akin to the poet’s candle lighting, that you can do today that feels healing and nourishing. Whereas the first step of the practice was about going inward for rest, this step is about leaning into your resources. Consider the following for inspiration:

  • Reach out to a trusted friend
  • Return to a book you cherish
  • Make time for meditation or prayer
  • Eat something nourishing

Step Three: Braid a Rope of Gratitude

The last lines of the poem suggest that a bridge between sorrow and joy can be made by “braiding a rope of gratitude.”

  • If you were to braid a rope of gratitude to bridge your sorrows and joys, your exhaustion and your fortitude, what would constitute the three strands of the braid? Asked differently, What are three things, people, or qualities you’re grateful for which — combined — provide the strength you need to move forward when tired and weary?

Step Four: Reflect

Once you’ve experimented with the practice steps above, take a few moments to consider the following:

  • Looking at the road ahead, in what ways do you want to expand your capacity to rest and reorient when weary?
  • In what ways is rest an essential aspect of living gratefully?

Scroll to the bottom of the page (or click here) to find the Community Conversation space where we invite you to share your reflections about today’s practice.

Deepening Resource

Give yourself the gift of 2 minutes of rest with this gorgeous piece of music by Melanie DeMore, performed with Julie Wolf. The music itself is an invitation to close your eyes, take a few deep breaths, and allow yourself to rest. The lyrics are a reminder to receive whatever light is being offered when we’re weary and, as DeMore sings, to “go slow dear one, don’t hurry.”

Sending You Light performers

Sending You Light by Melanie DeMore performed with Julie Wolf

Research Highlight

In this fascinating article, Wynne Parry explains the deep rest research by Drs. Alexandra Crossell and Elissa Epel at the University of California San Francisco. Their work demonstrates the ways that  “deep rest” activities open the door to “a psychological and physiological state during which our bodies can recover on a cellular level.” Practices that quiet our minds, invite contemplation, or connect us with others through movement or ritual lead to deep rest that is distinct from both sleep and just relaxing. “Deep rest is something our bodies need and deserve,” says Epel, a professor of psychiatry and vice chair of psychology. “With it, we improve our chances for healthy longevity.”

New Study Explores the Transformative Power of Deep Rest, Wynne Parry

Photo by Nik Demidko


Pathways