The Season

The permission slip nobody gave you

So here it is <3

Fake Rest

Fake rest : “pottering” | doing busywork or admin in your downtime |  doomscrolling while watching Netflix and talking to your partner | hoovering the house rather than actually relaxing

You know this “personality type”* (*not really a personality type) well I’m sure – most of us either are one or know one (or five … or ten).

If you’ve been around here a while you’ll likely know that I talk about rest a lot – and that I openly regularly struggle to fully press pause.

I’ve become so much better since becoming a mum. I value relaxing for hours with my kindle, the (occasional glimpses of) quiet, and stepping into my gardening era.

A big change

There are also literal dust bunnies upstairs, our living room floor is greige not white and I haven’t posted on social media for a LONG time, but for the first time in my life I’ve shrugged and said “I’ll catch up with it all when I can” and been genuinely ok with it.

When was the last time you tried a little less?

The fact is, we can avoid stopping for as long as we can, ignoring the stress building and the exhaustion creeping in. We can pretend that if we just keep busy everything will be ok, because that gives us an illusion of control when things are feeling anything but under control. But – truth bomb – this road doesn’t lead anywhere but burnout.

So if you are reading this and resonating with the busywork vibes, let me hand you a little permission slip. Chances are that you are really good at ignoring that little voice inside that’s telling you that thing are not ok.

An invitation for you

The reality is, nobody except you can gift you this. The people in your life may suggest you need more rest, even clear space so that you can, but it is you who needs to do the work to feel able to actually stop. And babe, I promise it really is safe to stop. Even if it’s just for 5 minutes, no distractions so put your phone down. It might be exactly what you’ve been needing.