The Importance of Rest: Insights from My Neighborhood Walk

Walking in my neighborhood during the day is a luxury I really only have in the summer months. As a teacher, the school year doesn’t afford me the time to see the inner workings of my small community until the sun is almost setting. Much like morning and evening people, the world looks very different as the sunrises verses when it’s setting. I am an early riser. Though I try hard to sleep past 6 or 7am, as soon as the sun peeks through the curtains my body is ready to explore a new day. Some would say this is the healthiest version of a sleep pattern; to rise and set with the sun. However, on the opposite end of the day, my body begins to power down soon after the sun so count me out for any late night adventures.

It’s hot right now. Heat wave type of oppressive heat, with storms threatening to break the humidity daily. Everyone is uncomfortable, including the birds and bugs. I hear them in the early morning, chirping and buzzing, signaling to each other early lessons learned of the day. Just as they are on the hunt before the sun rises too high in the sky, I venture out to get my wunders organized in my head. My little neighborhood has a 1/2 mile loop around the periphery and while it’s a monotonous routine to circle the same path, when something is different it’s easy to spot.

In this very urban setting with a bit of man-made greenery, next to a very small reservoir, citified wildlife – squirrels, crows, and geese mostly- congregate. A few days ago, I noticed that there was a pile of almonds, about a bag full, dumped in a greened area between the road and the houses. My first thought was how kind someone was to think of the future needs of these small creatures. My second thought was of the great expense spent on feeding creatures – maybe the bag was stale. Throughout the day and evening, scavengers made short work of the almonds, leaving nothing but crumbs by the morning.

Today, I ventured out again, early before the heat of the day made me feel like skipping my routine was the better option. It was on my second or third loop around that I noticed an even larger pile of almonds on the opposite side of the street from the first one. The pile was at least three times as big as the first. And next to that was a smaller pile of hazelnuts. Immediately, my brain clocked how much money was sitting on the ground. There had to be a least $50 dollars of nuts, probably more, on the ground. On top of the large pile of almonds were two black birds – I’d guess crows but I have not begun to dive into the realm aviation identification yet – they stopped pecking to watch me as I watched them. The gesture seemed kind at first but this gift of over-abundance now made me question if this act was helping or hurting the local wildlife.

Humans are very similar to the birds, and other small animals mammals in that at our roots, we are driven by instinct. Years and years of evolution have caused us to use less of it, but just as I try hard to sleep in -intuitively, instinctively- my body rises with the sun. We are physical beings at our core, thriving on movement and mobility to activate our brains and bodies. The longer we sit, the harder it is to move. But the more we move the easier movement becomes. Have you heard the saying “it’s your mind you have to convince, your body can do anything”? What we believe we can do is exactly what we can do.

We absolutely need restful moments, both physically and mentally. During sleep, our brains efficiently prune unnecessary connections creating room for new and essential information. Yet, there’s another type of rest that our bodies demand, and it varies for each of us. As a Leo, a summer child, a fire sign dominated by the sun’s incredible energy, I reserve my rest for the evening, rainy days, and winter months, compensating for the lack of sunlight with a powerful artificial light box. But now, consider: what type of rest do you require?

Do you need passive rest? A rest liken to a day of very little movement. One where you cocoon up and binge a whole series, or read a whole book. A rest that tells your body to pause all movement and just be in the moment. Do you need an active rest? A rest different from your daily norms but still involves physical movement, like a yoga class, or a calm stroll to start or end the day. Active rest keeps the body and mind fluid and flowing by continuing to deliver energy to our working cells. Sometimes we don’t know we even need rest until our body forcibly shuts down the ability to be active.

Recently, I spent a long period of time in a passive rest thinking that’s what my body and mind needed. My position at work was very stressful and filled with trauma dumping, lack of support, and micromanaging. My confidence was destroyed. I knew I couldn’t continue in the position but had no choice to leave until the end of the school year. Just to make it through, would come home from work, eat and crawl into bed. It was 5pm on most days and I was in my jams for the night. I became complacent, achey, and a little depressed. When the position ended, with the sigh of relief was also a renewed interest in getting back what I felt I’d lost – movement, fluidity, radiance, light. Perhaps if I spent more time in an active rest situation, I wouldn’t have lost so much of myself throughout the year.

My mind circles back to the pile of almonds on the ground. Is feeding the wildlife, who instinctively is hunt and gather, doing them a disservice by providing a continual (and soon to be expected) break in their bodies natural process? Will they lose the drive to search, just as I lost my drive to thrive? Perhaps this bit of ease in their routine shouldn’t be long-term but rather a treat just once a month? Maybe we should take a lesson or two from the critters and honor our instincts rather than force something that doesn’t work for us.