Has anyone ever said this to you? 

THE MOST IMPORTANT THING IS YOU ARE RESTED.

THE MOST IMPORTANT THING

MOST IMPORTANT

THING

IS YOU

AND THAT YOU ARE RESTED. 

this is a profound statement which came to me in a download. When you have been spending your life at the beck and call of others and found insufficient assistance in your time of need this statement may affect you on a deeper level. 

for many people, and even for some children in abusive households, rest is considered a luxury, rather than a natural state and basic right. It is something that needs to be earned. Toxic people may expect you to be constantly giving. You can't just chill. You feel like you are always on call in service to others. Even when there is nothing to do and you are now out of that toxic environment you still have a expectation from yourself that you need to be "doing something". Usually the root of all this is to prove your worth and value and earn love. 

It can take a long time to recognise this behaviour in ourselves and even realise that it is abnormal and even longer to change it. It requires a shift in our mindset, behaviour and thinking. 

Rest is an essential and basic human right. No one other than you has the right to tell you how much rest you need and when you have "had enough" rest. If a person continues to plough on without enough rest that they need physically, emotionally and mentally they will eventually burn out and their body will FORCE them to take a rest by completely shutting down or developing a disease. mentally the person may experience mental illness such as depression or out of character behaviour that they can't control. They may have difficulty in controlling their emotions. 

whilst we recognise that the people who denied us this rest in the past had their own psychological traumas they were dealing with we must now put boundaries in place to protect our basic right of resting. You will know your self, your body, your mind, your emotional state and life situation to be able to decide how much rest you need and when you need it. Reclaim your right to independently ascertain how much rest you need.

Ensuring that someone you love has enough rest is a form of love. It is something that you have been doing for everyone except for yourself. It is now time to show yourself that same tender and caring love. Sit in your sacred space or anywhere you feel calm and peaceful and reflect on the rest that you need and how you will get this rest. Set aside times during the day or week. If you have young children arrange childcare if you can and in your rest time REST! Resting doesn't have to be boring. You could watch a movie, go for a walk, meditate, draw, colour, go out with a friend. Absolutely anything that you feel recharges you physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually (if you are spiritual). but you must make this an absolute priority in your life and it must be regular. 

indeed...the most important thing is you are rested. When you are rested you are more balanced, more clear headed, more able to give without resentment and more likely to make decisions. Meditation is a great way to rest as it rests the body and mind and allows the soul to come through giving you guidance and love. 

There are many things that we cannot control in this life and we must surrender to in order to find true peace. However we CAN control how we treat ourselves and how we love ourselves and this is one of life's little luxuries and hacks! We have the power to give ourselves peace, love and joy.

so much peace, love and joy to you all