What kind of rest do you need right now? 🤔

Hi Reader, 

Congratulations on making it to the last month of 2022, another wild year! (Are we going to say that every year? Probably?)

How are you doing right now?

My inbox is always open to replies for space-holding and support.

In the spirit of last week’s Creative Wellness Letter, Are you embracing slowness?, I’m re-sharing a letter from last year, since the darker days of December, pandemic burnout, etc. are causing most of us to crave more rest, and this is always a great reminder!

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One of my favorite music podcasts, Caipirinha Appreciation Society, has the tagline “Brazilian music beyond the clichés”, and it has introduced me to so much interesting new music over the years, which has continued to feed my wonderful obsession with music from Brazil.

I’ve always been drawn to going beyond the clichés in both my learning and teaching, because that lets you dig deeper and get to what’s really special, interesting, and possibly as-of-yet unknown about the topic. (Also, one of my core values is learning/curiosity, probably no surprise!)

I feel the same way about self care - going beyond the clichés is essential, because meeting your own needs is so personal, and the possibilities are so vast. If you’re stuck with just the commonly Instagrammed forms of self care (nothing wrong with bath bombs if you love them, of course), then let’s dig deeper.

I talk a lot about rest in conjunction with self care, because they’re very intertwined. 🤝

The winter season (that those of us in the Northern Hemisphere are in now) makes many of us have lower energy levels, which warrants more rest, and in this challenging year, even more! I’d be willing to bet that you need even more than you think you do.

Often when hearing the word “rest”, you might think of physical rest like sleeping or lying down, but I define it as anything that replenishes your energy. This will change from day to day - the long hike that felt good last weekend might just be too tiring today, for example.

Here are some of the different types of rest, along with questions to ponder and clarify each one:

• Physical

Do I need to rest my body? How can I prioritize getting more sleep?

• Emotional

Am I feeling overwhelmed by feelings? What kind of support do I need to let them out or work through them?

• Spiritual

Am I craving quiet, contemplative time? How can I reconnect to my sense of purpose?

• Mental

Am I having trouble focusing? Could I use a break from thinking?

• Social

Am I craving a break from people, or craving the energy I get from interacting with (certain) people?

• Sensory

Am I feeling overstimulated by sight, sound, or other senses?

• Creative

Do I feel squeezed dry and devoid of ideas? Do I need a change of scenery to gain fresh inspiration?

• Financial

Have I been spending more money than I’ve budgeted? Where could I pause my spending to relieve some stress?

This week, I invite you to ask yourself what kind of rest you need.

If it’s many of these types, and that feels overwhelming, pick whichever one seems the most important and urgent.

Then, schedule it, or do whatever you need to do to make it happen, even if in a small way!

Whether you’re celebrating Solstice, Festivus, Christmas, Boxing Day, Kwanzaa, or something else, I’m wishing you a peaceful and satisfying holiday season - I’ll be taking a break from writing until the new year.

As we close out 2022, and you reflect on what you’ve done this year, please remember that just making it through these past few years is a huge accomplishment, and whatever you have gotten done is enough.

We’re still here, and that is always something to celebrate!

I’m so grateful to have you here as part of my community, and I’m wishing you the absolute best - happy new year and I’ll see you in 2023!

What type of rest do you need right now? 

Hit reply and let me know.

Stay well, my friends - I'm always rooting for you. My inbox is always open, so please feel free to reach out if I can help in any way. 

I always love hearing from you!

Have a lovely week! ⁠

Rebecca

• Susannah Conway's Unravel Your Year has been my favorite (free!) tool for end-of-year reflection for a long time - here's this year's version, if you want to use it, too!
• 50 Digital Resources to Help You Manage Your Mental Health During the Holidays - Lots of resources, in case this is a tough season for you.
• My Favorite Holiday Self Care Resources - My blog post roundup to help you take good care of yourself in December!

I'm sharing old favorite episodes as I take a podcast break in December.

• Ep. 70: Embracing Slowness Instead of Urgency

• Ep. 20: Embrace Doing Less in the Darker Season
  
  

For many of us, the winter (and holiday) season comes with lower energy but higher expectations, and the dissonance of that can be really challenging. In this episode I invite you to question your assumptions about how much you have to get done, how many priorities you need to have, and how you treat yourself around that. 

Listen in to learn some tangible ways to do less that don’t involve throwing everything out, and are easy to try!

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