Have you taken time this summer for meaningful rest? 

The image is from an article by Molly Shea (the pic is also a link to that article, if you're interested) in which she summarizes work by physician Saundra Dalton-Smith, M.D., author of Sacred Rest: Recover Your Life, Renew Your Energy, Renew Your Sanity.

(Isn't there a lot of amazing work in the world?)

I appreciate the simple graphic--partly for its simplicity and partly for the checklist it gives me when considering my rest--whether that rest is tucking in for a weekend of good sleep, with just enough exercise and healthy food or a trip to three countries for a hike around some mountains. If I'm calling it "rest" or "vacation" or whatever, I can check to see if it is giving me the refresh I need all around or if I'm missing a part that I'll need to take care of before I get back into my everyday.

Have you ever come back from a vacation exhausted? or maybe physically and mentally refreshed but socially or spiritually dissatisfied? or vice versa?

And how does that affect your finding meaning going forward?

(I'm really asking. I don't have good answers on this.)

Meaningful rest is the ultimate self-care--perhaps in a Venn diagram, they are the same circle! And that circle is like a little trampoline from which we can launch ourselves into meaningful work and meaningful relationships and all the rest!

What does meaningful rest look like to you, this summer? Is it all in one or will it have parts that fit together? What will it avail you to do?