It's Okay to Rest

“It’s okay to rest.”

The quote came my way through an unexpected messenger. It was a cup of flavored tea that a co-worker was drinking, and this was the quote hand-written on the side of the cup.

Being one who needs that message, I paused.

Questions started to bubble to the surface:

Is it okay to rest?

What would rest look like for me?

What would it feel like?

How would I benefit from rest?

What ways can I work toward rest today, this week?

 

What questions arise for you when hearing the simple words: It’s okay to rest?

Write them down.

The questions themselves are telling you the answers. But do work on answers for each of the questions.

And find time and space to share those questions and answers with someone close to you today.

My hope is that this upcoming 3-day weekend will give us opportunity to rest. Or more correctly, that we will take and make the opportunity to rest over the weekend. And next week. And the following week.

The Miracle of a Teaspoon of Honey

Imagine for a moment…

A teaspoon of honey

Take a good look at the glistening gold

And now, the anticipation as you bring it to your mouth.

It touches taste buds, setting off something magical in the neurons a few inches above.

Feel, for a moment, the pleasure of that honey as it overwhelms your senses.

Bask in it.

Enjoy the moment.

(If in a meeting as you read this, try not to smile too big, or others may become suspicious and accuse you of not paying attention, or worse yet, may accuse you of having fun while on the clock.)

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Having just harvested honey from our honeybee hive, taking from these wonderful creatures their most amazing creation, I am inspired to share.

In that one teaspoon we just imagined…

It took 12 honeybee girls their entire 40-day lifetimes to produce that honey.

12 of Creator’s creatures spent their lives making that one teaspoon come to be.

And in their 12 lifetimes, they visited a total of 31,000 flowers and flew 1,000 miles to harvest the nectar.

One each foraging trip, they visit 50-100 flowers, storing the nectar in their honey stomachs where digestive enzymes break down complex sugars into simple sugars (glucose, fructose).

The nectar was carefully transported to the hive, regurgitated to other bees who add enzymes and place it in the hexagon combs in the hive.

Nectar comes in as 80% water, and was then dehydrated through fanning from the bees’ wings over a course of days until it is 15-18% water. Finally, they cover it with beeswax, also made from nectar, preserving it for the months ahead. If they make a mistake and make honey that is 21% water, it will ferment. (Capped honey thousands of years old has been found, and once uncapped, the honey is still good!)

Our bees are now in the mode of preparing for winter, as the nectar flow usually ends at the end of July in New Mexico. They will now survive on their stored honey through mid-April when nectar starts flowing again.

May this reflection on life and nature, via these wonderful creatures, sit with you and enhance your day’s journey.

May it make the taste of honey that much sweeter.

May it give us pause when we see a bee today visiting a flower.

May gratitude and awe overwhelm us when the next teaspoon of honey finds its way to our mouth.

First Day of School

The sweet, waxy scent of a new 64-set of Crayolas

The crisp feel to notebooks not yet worn and weary

Perfectly sharpened pencils

Students in their new shoes and clothes

Teachers there to welcome in the new crop to their classroom

Everyone with a clean slate as the new chapter of learning begins

 

For those without children, today is the mid-point of summer, 6 weeks from the beginning of fall. But for those with kids, today is the beginning of fall as we send our children to school today to begin another school year.

I want you to push back from work and life for a moment, and take yourself back to the first day of school. Let’s go together to 3^rd grade, first day of school. You didn’t have middle school drama or high school love triangles just yet. Life was simple.

You are on the way to school, first day of 3^rd grade.

How did you get there? Who took you?

Picture the front of the school building as you entered. Was there a special friend by your side?

You are entering your 3^rd grade classroom for the first time. Your teacher there to greet you and the other students. Picture this as vividly as you can. Smells. Sights. Sounds. Feelings.

Have fun with it – draw it out, write about it, and play like a 3^rd grader at recess!

What if we we mix that nostalgia of our own journey with the energy of the students and teachers today?

The fresh Crayolas, crisp notebooks, and perfectly sharpened pencils waft the air of renewal our way today, my friends. Breathe it in!

Carolynn, our beloved niece, as she begins kindergarten today.