Are you someone who feels like they don't have enough energy to do all the tasks in a day?
Maybe you know you only have so much energy to get you through the day.
If you have a chronic illness, it's likely that this is a feeling you're used to.
It's important to listen to your body, it can be so easy to push yourself on days when you feel more full of energy. Only to feel like you're paying for it for days or longer afterwards.
Maybe days full of energy are few and you more often than not feel drained by doing everyday tasks. Sometimes getting out of bed may take all your energy.
This is when rest is more important than ever. Learning to listen to your body is so important.
It's at these times that we need to put ourselves first. I know this is a really big ask for a lot of us.
Taking time out of the tasks we tell ourselves we must do so that we can give oursleves grace to feel better.
Often we can fear the reaction of others and this can make us push ourselves to do things we really don't need to do.
I find it helps to reframe at this moment. If the roles were reversed and my friend was struggling how would I react?
You would be kind, compassionate and understanding, that's how most of the people you know will react.
Now lets look at the ways in which we might rest.
What rest looks like is different for everyone, below I have some suggestions and what I'll be doing today to rest.
I have my chairs outside and I'm looking forward to sitting there later with my lemonade and a book taking a well earned rest.
Other way's to rest include sleeping in bed, taking time for a bath, sitting with your thoughts, if you like to meditate taking time for that. Some people find sitting watching the tv relaxing. There is no right way to rest it's about what feels good to you.
I know if you have children it can be more difficult to take time out for yourself.
While I'm relaxing on my chair my son will be outside play fighting with his lightsaber. Hearing him play fills my soul with so much happiness and I think sometimes being surrounded by our children playing is the best medicine for a tired body. Equally children may want you to join in with the play while your trying to rest.
Here I think it's about what feels good to you. Do you want to play from your chair? I like to join in by playing catch from my chair, I'm using a little of my energy and I'm involved in the giggles and the fun. Don't feel bad if your energy levels don't allow for this.
Remember what rest looks like is up to you. Take as much rest as you need, you can build yourself up to be the person you want to be.
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