come and rest

Welcome to my little get-away.  Do you like it?  Before we settle in let’s toss some of the excess baggage.  There’s no room for those resentments about the past nor worries about tomorrow.  Get rid of that backpack of responsibilities weighing you down.  Settle in under my palm tree and let’s look just beyond the horizon.  It’s calling us, isn’t it?  Rest for the soul. 

Our society (read between the lines here – the greed of Western culture) is insane with its preoccupation with material goods and financial success.  In the years leading up to 2008 and the economic meltdown, I was part of that insanity – accumulation of unmanageable debt, an absence of a savings plan, and basing self-worth on net-worth.  Then, the year 2009 brought a major adjustment to my life’s vision.  Bankruptcy including the loss of my business, my income, and my home at the age of 62 involuntarily initiated a different style of living.  It was called simplicity, something I had always admired, but never truly embraced.  It was fine for other people, however, I saw it as poverty.

I learned to love simplicity after the necessary adjustments were made to spending habits and lifestyle.  I gained a freedom never before experienced, an opportunity to escape the treadmill called the American dream.  It affords hours daily to simply be, to commune with one’s nature, one’s Maker and the beauty of the earth given to us as a dwelling place.  Resting in awe of the incredible life process we experience is a daily ‘activity’.  Would you like to come and rest with me?  Sit under my palm tree and gaze at the horizon?

Jesus, who escaped to the serenity of a garden frequently, said it this way to his disciples: “Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest.” MARK 6:30  Productivity and success are radically redefined when pursuing this lifestyle advised by the ancient mystics.

So many of us have lived our lives placing unmerited value on the opinions of others while discrediting our personal truth and reality.  Breaking the shackles of people-pleasing requires honest self-appraisal, a healthy dose of self-esteem, and an enormous commitment to self-realization.  

….as near as the destination may be, it’s still the journey that matters….