Tomorrow I’m off on a 200 mile hike across Northern England, and one of the things I’m looking forward to is getting away from all the screens. True rest happens when we get rid of the distractions and tune in to ourselves – and to this beautiful world that we live in.
Rest
We’ve become
all of us
citizens of screenland,
switching on something
to try and switch off,
encouraged to escape
our thunderous minds,
numbing feeling, dumbing sense,
is that really rest?
You are far more interesting
than the world would have you believe,
and you shouldn’t be afraid
to spend time with yourself
with nothing but yourself
in the silences,
in the gaps.
What you will find is that within you
are thirsty roots
and resurrections
and a wild, shining hope.
True rest doesn’t mean tuning out,
it means tuning in
to you;
it means coming alive to your senses
and leaning over to look
at the dark pool of your feelings;
it means giving space
for the soul to sing
or sob
or whatever it needs,
it means opening up
so there’s room
for a new thing
to sink in.
– Gideon Heugh
Gideon Heugh 