Antonia Bernardin

While this blog is mostly about books and writing, occasionally I talk about things that have been on my mind. Because it’s my blog and I’m in charge.

Today I wanted to reflect on something I have been forced to learn over 2023: the importance of rest.

Because, you know what, we need to stop glamourising the ‘hustle’. Peace and rest should have their place in your life. I like being busy, I like to do all the things but I’ve discovered the only way I can keep doing all the things is if I find moments to pause and people and places in which I find peace.

I saw this Tedtalk once where this woman talked about juggling balls, some of those balls were rubber and some of them were glass, and you have to work out which ones will bounce if you drop them and which will shatter.

You’ve got to find the balls you can let bounce in order to rest, or consider your wellbeing as one of the glass balls that will shatter. I know ‘self care’ has become a real buzz word but in a culture that praises being productive above all else, this a skill that needs to be learned for some people. I should know, I was one of them.

With rest becoming a priority, grace for yourself will follow when you don’t achieve everything you set out to do at the start of the day. If your to do list had to give way because you were knackered and just wanted to watch TV all day, then that is okay, it was what your body needed and you listened to your body.

Now I will caveat this by saying, I have no people I have to take care of besides myself, so I guess you could say it’s easy for me to sit here and say this, which would be a fair criticism. However, I think my point applies to you even more, finding time for rest as a parent or caregiver is something you should try to squeeze in if you can. Even if it is just solo shit so you can scroll on your phone for 20 minutes.

Anyway, let’s hope 2024 is a year of more balance for all of us because my attempts this year have definitely made me happier and made it easier to bounce back when stressful shit occurs. P.S I also got sick WAY less than I usually do…

Back to your regularly scheduled book-ish nonsense next post!