Ever feel like socializing leaves you drained rather than replenished? Discover how to harness the power of social rest with me, Sally Burlington, in the latest episode of the Create Harmony podcast. We navigate the often-missed avenues to rejuvenation, exploring Dr. Sandra Dalton Smith's seven types of rest, specifically the social rest that comes from nurturing life-giving relationships. Our journey doesn't stop there; we'll also immerse ourselves in restful meditations, drawing wisdom from Kate Bowler and Donna Ashworth, to learn how to surround ourselves with the lighthouses rather than the rocks in our social seas.
Tackling rest deficiencies can feel like a daunting task, but it's a transformative one. In this episode, I'll guide you through a candid look at where we may be falling short in our rest routines and how to celebrate the strides we've made while extending grace to ourselves where we need to grow. Tune in and take a step towards a life that's not just busy, but rich with rest and balance.
Ever feel like socializing leaves you drained rather than replenished? Discover how to harness the power of social rest with me, Sally Burlington, in the latest episode of the Create Harmony podcast. We navigate the often-missed avenues to rejuvenation, exploring Dr. Sandra Dalton Smith's seven types of rest, specifically the social rest that comes from nurturing life-giving relationships. Our journey doesn't stop there; we'll also immerse ourselves in restful meditations, drawing wisdom from Kate Bowler and Donna Ashworth, to learn how to surround ourselves with the lighthouses rather than the rocks in our social seas.
Tackling rest deficiencies can feel like a daunting task, but it's a transformative one. In this episode, I'll guide you through a candid look at where we may be falling short in our rest routines and how to celebrate the strides we've made while extending grace to ourselves where we need to grow. Tune in and take a step towards a life that's not just busy, but rich with rest and balance.
To learn more, go to mycreateharmony.com
Speaker 1:
Welcome back to the Create Harmony podcast. So glad you've joined us here today. What you can expect from Create Harmony are ideas on how to raise your well-being, how to refresh your life and refocus on peace and joy. So you'll hear many ways to give thanks and relish in those small everyday joys of life. Our conversations revolve around taking small steps towards contentment and joy. So I am Sally Burlington and this is Episode 65.
Speaker 1:
And we are in the process of taking a long, hard look ahead of getting good rest. We've been discussing rest over the last several weeks and we have acknowledged that there are lots of different ways to rest. There are actually seven different ways to rest. These different ways of rest are attributed to Dr Sandra Dalton Smith. Understanding those is the secret of how to feel more refreshed. So let's go back through what those seven types are. What's more, for review, they are physical, mental, emotional, social, sensory, creative and spiritual. So we've covered in our previous two weeks. We've covered mental rest and emotional rest. If you want to learn more about those, you can go back and listen to the two previous episodes.
Speaker 1:
And today we're going to consider social rest. So this is probably going to appeal to the introverts in the room. The introverts here say, yes, I know how to rest socially, I've got that down. But it is more than just taking a break from socializing. Getting social rest is bigger than that. That's part of it. But finding social rest involves analyzing your relationships and selecting those that give you energy, and it is avoiding those drama filled friendships. That doesn't mean that you can't have complex relationships. You're going to have complex relationships in your life. It just means that you may need to give yourself a break at times to rest your soul. So have you begun to see yourself in some of these types of rest? Are you feeling a little bit more confident about what you need to target, where you can meet your needs and how to restore yourself? There's pretty subtle differences, in my opinion, between each type, and some of them overlap a little bit. But understanding those subtleties, I feel like that can help you know where you need to focus your time and attention. So take a moment to ponder where you might invite social rest into your life if you feel like that is something that you are deficient in.
Speaker 1:
So now we're going to transition into our rest reflections. We've been doing this as part of our rest discussion. If this is the first time you've joined us. Here's how this works. I'm going to share some rest readings, some things about social rest that you can use as a time of quiet meditation on the topic. So you're going to let my voice just soothe your day and invite you into a more restful posture. So take these reflections to heart, let them inspire you and move you into a spirit of deep rest and restoration.
Speaker 1:
So for today, our reflections for today we're going to hear from Kate Bowler and Donna Ashworth. So our first reflection is from Kate Bowler. Kate has written lots of books and she's the host of a popular podcast called Everything Happens, and the book that we're going to use today is called the Lives we Actually have, and our reading is called For a Peaceful Day and Night, and it goes like this O peace, you are the mountain. We glimpse from afar the height and depth of our needs. We chart our way to you by starlight, through paths overgrown with wrongs we ourselves have seeded then have left to grow unchecked. It is a long way when we travel, but a good one. Making things right, as ever, we can Light the way God bring us to that place of rest rest from the world outside and from the one inside. Rest from our prickling fears and obsessive thoughts. What if this never changes? What if it goes on forever? What if I try and I fail? What if I don't and never know? Bring us peace, god. Enough for this moment, enough to quiet the questions with no answers. And, while you're at it, pencil us in for tomorrow too and soak up that message of peace and joy. Just think on it for a second and we'll move to our second rest reflection for this week. It's also from Kate Bowler, from her book the Lives we Actually have, and it is called For Friends who Hold Us Up here. It is God you called me to love, but people are inherently risky.
Speaker 1:
Telling my story, being known, asking for help, complaining again about the thing I worry, might sound cliche by now. Shouldn't I be over it already? But something is happening. When I'm known, I'm becoming stronger. Somehow I'm reminded of the pillars I've seen holding up cathedrals, flying buttresses, engineered to provide support for a fragile wall, allowing them to be built taller, more stunning, more covered with ornaments or filled with stained glass, letting all the colorful light dance in. The walls would collapse without them there, but strengthened, they create something beautiful. God, when I'm no longer quite so tall and strong, give me those who hold me up and remind me of who I am and that I'm loved. Yes, I'll get back up again today. Yes, I'll get those kids cereal and help my parents with an errand. Yes, I'll go to work or come up with something better to do with retirement hours. I will try again. I know I will, because someone else's absurd faith in me is fortifying, so blessed are the flying buttresses, for they hold us up when everything seems ready to come apart, allowing us to face today, not because we're doing it alone, but precisely because we aren't.
Speaker 1:
And our last rest reflection today is from Donna Ashworth. It's from her book Wild Hope and called Light Houses and Rocks. Some people are lighthouses. They can't help it. They just have so much light within them that they must use it selfishly, throwing their beams out into the night with their call of safety and rescue. Some people are rocks they can't help it. They have hardened over the years, grown sharp and edgy, crushing hearts on their craggy points, without even seeing the wreckage or the survivors drowning before them. Some people are lighthouses and some people are rocks, and you must learn to recognize them equally, because they are both as important as the other one to aim for and the other to avoid. Keep your heart on the lighthouses and your beady eye on the rocks. You're not going there again.
Speaker 1:
So we've made our way through our rest reflections for this week, and resting in these ways sometimes it's easier said than done. Have you been able to identify a type of rest that you're deficient in from the ones we've covered so far? If you're doing well on these first three, I'll remind you to give yourself some congratulations, and if you need to raise your skills in any of these, give yourself some grace. And as we find new ways to add these things into our life, the first step is recognizing your need. As always, I hope this conversation and our rest reflections, who are a source of inspiration, will be back next week. Hopefully you'll join us then to explore a new type of rest, and until next time, peace.