Taking a holy pause.
My love,
Rest is not a means to an end,
But an end itself.
We don't need a reason to rest,
Play,
Or have joy.
We don't need to strive toward anything.
I do not know accomplishment.
I do not know productivity.
I do not know awards,
Recognition,
Legacies,
Or marks.
I just know how to be like a tree.
Present,
Alive,
Enduring.
The tree does not try to do anything more than just be.
The tree trusts the sun and dirt will nourish it,
And in return,
The tree stretches little by little.
People are in complete awe at the sight of a mighty oak,
The tall redwoods,
The plump elms.
Dear one,
What I am saying is you do not need to do a thing to add to the beauty of this world.
Just by being you,
The world will nourish you,
Support you,
And as a result,
You will stretch like the tree.
You will stretch into your true nature.
Dear one,
Has your production ever given you peace?
Production,
Achievement,
Attainment,
These things may give you temporary positive feelings.
What makes you feel belonging in your bones?
What makes your soul exhale?
What makes you melt into the world around you?
Is it the sight of the first flower in spring?
Is it standing still in a silent forest,
Only hearing a woodpecker in the distance?
Is it the sunset over your favorite lake?
My love,
The world invites us to ease into her stillness and to be wrapped up in her quiet,
Humble peace.
When you take time to withdraw from the noise,
From the doing,
From all the voices,
You leave what is familiar because you know there is something better,
Something more true that exists.
My love,
Once you leave it all,
You can finally find yourself.
You can finally recognize the one voice among the masses that was giving you the right advice.
It was your own.
When you find stillness,
You find yourself.
It is easy to become anxious when we take away what we know.
It is okay to be scared of the stillness.
Dear one,
If you ride the wave of discomfort,
There is a bottomless well of true abundance awaiting you on the other side.
Most of us only know temporary enjoyment from production.
Dear ones,
When we let it all fall away,
When we shred the false belief that joy,
Peace,
And satisfaction come from our output,
Our production,
We realize that we can simply have joy to have joy.
We can take a rest just to take a rest.
This journey is not about attaining.
This journey is about being present,
Just to be present,
To feel love,
Just to feel love,
To bask in pleasure,
Just to bask in pleasure,
To admire beauty,
Just to admire beauty.
There is no means to an end,
Dear one.
You may not have to earn your reward or rest.
All that truly fills us up is available to us anytime,
No matter who we are,
What we've done,
Or what we haven't done.
We may not be able to stay withdrawn forever.
Maybe even not for more than a few moments.
My love,
That is okay.
If you retreat to the stillness to find your footing,
Then continue on.
There is nothing more holy than a pause.
