Once a week, we talk about rest. Why?
Because good art comes from slowness, mindfulness, and an attention to detail and the senses. Bad art or sentimental art comes from a busy desire to produce something, anything, that will bring fame or fortune or at least that addicting and fleeting feeling of self-expression. I know. I have produced a lot of bad art.
Busy busy busy. We are the busiest culture in the history of the world. And I'm writing this on the internet, which is the busiest tool humans have ever created.
We must have reminders that being busy will not make us better artists.
Photo by Kristaps B.
From six pm Saturday to six pm Sunday, I stop writing. I stop checking email. I stop doing everything that doesn't bring rest. These twenty-four hours don't just make me a better writer, they make me a better husband, friend, human being.
And the following posts were all written in the hours just before to goad me into rest. Rest isn't easy. Like many of you, I'm addicted to busy and rest feels foreign and uncomfortable. We need reminders:
The Discipline of Rest
Five Things that Offer No Rest
Be Still
Looking Back on Dreams
Experience More Joy
Battling the Empty Page
What Keeps You From Rest?
You Have to Choose
What Will You Write this Year?
Looking Back on Dreams
Your Successes Will Never Be Successful Enough
Refilling
There Will Always Be Too Much Work to Do
How to Be Present By Planning Ahead
You Only Get So Much Time for Productivity
Stop Being So Disciplined
The Right to Rest
Entering the Threshold of Rest
Stop Being So Busy
Other Writers On Rest
I may be a dreamer, but I'm not the only one. Other writers are talking about rest. Here are just a few:
When the April Atlantic Trumps the Urgent by Kim Hall
Sabbath, Anyone? by Jenny Dykstra
Digital Sabbatical by Dave Lukas
If you've written on rest, or would like to, send us an email with the link to the post. We'll share it here.