Permission to Pause

"Rest is not retreat.
It is your permission slip to pause, breathe and transform."

- Mathilde Barbier

As I sit to write this article, I can’t quite believe that the year is drawing to a close already. It feels like autumn has just started yet there is a flurry of activity swirling all around. Stepping from one seasonal celebration to another at work, at school, in the community. Rush, noises, queues, gift-hunters lights and decorations everywhere. Calendars fill up. To-do lists expand. Pace quickens.

A palpable tension can be felt in the air and yet somewhere beneath all this, if we pay careful attention, our bodies whisper a different story.

Slow down - Turn inward – Rest

Rest?

Isn’t it something that we’ve been taught we earn after we’ve done everything else? (Which frankly never happens as there is always something else to do!).

Isn’t that about taking a nap or lying down? (Bed rest is something we can only justify when we are ill otherwise guilt creeps in at the mere thought of it).

Rest in peace. Do we really have to wait until we are no longer alive to earn some well-deserved guilt-free stillness?

Rest, I have discovered, is far more nuanced than we’ve been led to believe. We often think about physical and mental rest, but there are other types that rarely make the headlines, yet they can act as gentle reset.

Emotional rest – Taking a break from managing everyone else's feelings, or even our own. Giving yourself permission to simply feel without the need to find an immediate fix.

Social rest: Not hiding from everyone but choosing company that nourishes rather than depletes. Saying a gentle "no" for self-preservation.

Sensory rest: Our world is overstimulating. Bright lights, pinging, buzzing, notifications, endless scrolling. Have you ever tried putting your phone down and scrolling the palm of your hand instead. Give it a go now … Let your nervous system remember what gentleness feels like.

Playful rest: Somehow we think we have to be constantly productive, working, achieving, setting goals. How about scheduling some 'playtime' every day, even just a few minutes. Try juggling with apples, dancing, doodling, playing I spy ...

Environmental rest: All that time indoors with artificial lights, technology, plastic. Our nervous system seeks connection to nature. Bring a plant in your room, collect pebbles on the beach, pick up acorns, cook with fresh ingredients.

Creative rest: Finding beauty in simple things. A winter sunset. The sound of rain. Frost patterns on the window. The glow of a candle. These tiny pauses refill us.

• • • • •

This month, I invite you to:

REST

Instead of measuring the year by what you have achieved, consider measuring it by how well you have listened to your body, your needs and the quiet voice that says: "Rest, you have done enough for now.”

What kind of rest is calling you?

Perhaps this month we need to reimagine what REST truly means:
R – Release (anything that feels heavy…)
E – Embrace what is
S – Slow down (yes, even for ten minutes)
T – Transform gently

Because sometimes, doing nothing is exactly what you need to do.

• • • • •

As the last month of the year unfolds, I invite you to give yourself the greatest gift of all: permission to pause, replenish and explore the different facets of rest without apology because self-care is not selfish and may you dare to be the change you want to see in your organisation, family, community and life!

Image Credit: Photo by Ray Hennessy on Unsplash