Rhythms of Rest, Letting in Hope and Banh Mi Burgers
I am a terrible rest-er. When I am, “resting” I am, more often than not, thinking about the things not getting done because I am resting. What has taken me a long time to accept is that my obsession with hyper-productivity doesn’t mean that I AM actually hyper-productive. Perhaps, at one time. That ship has sailed.
Simply put, my fixation with hyper-productivity doesn’t actually PRODUCE anything except ANXIETY.
This has been a fascinating, albeit, obvious, realization.
So, here are some things I’ve attempted to build in this month to encourage the kind of rest that nourishes.
Restful Practices:
Putting the first floor to bed: We as a family have breathed a collective sigh of exhaustion. At around 8 p.m., without much discussion, we’ve begun to put the first floor, “to bed,” and head upstairs. What this means simply is this: we clean the counters, move shoes and clutter to where they go, close all of the doors ( this 200 year old house has so many doors) and turn off all the lights. At 8 p.m. Seriously. We’ve found that our girls are so accustomed to one floor living that the idea that we were all very accessible made it easier for them to relax. They put pajamas on and read or listen to podcasts or do artsy-fartsy things in their rooms, and we read or catch up on the day in ours. It’s led to earlier bedtimes, a deeper feeling of connection and an overall sense of rest that I hope will carry us through the winter.
Morning Meditations: I love words, clearly. Here are some of my favorites that I begin every morning with:
“You do not have to be good. You do not have to walk on your knees for a hundred miles through the desert repenting. You only have to let the soft animal of your body love what it loves. Tell me about despair, yours, and I will tell you mine.
Meanwhile the world goes on.” - Mary Oliver
“Tell your story with your whole heart.” -Brene Brown
“May I have the courage today to live the life that I would love, to postpone my dreams no longer but do at last what I came here for and waste my heart on fear no more.”- John O’Donohue
“The ship is safest in the port, but that’s not what it was built for.”- Unknown
“Here is the world. Beautiful and terrible things will happen. Don't be afraid.”- Frederick Buechner
Playlist: I start every morning with this. Now, you can too.
Sabbath: From 6 pm on Saturday to 6 pm on Sunday I am ATTEMPTING to keep boundaries around my work which means: I do not check and/or respond to emails, slack messages or any other communications that are work related. I read and eat things that feel delicious to me. I spend time with my family and friends. It hasn’t gone perfectly, but I am committed to the investment of it.
Weekly Sustanence
I’ve become obsessed with making my home hyggeligt this winter. It’s already overrun with paper stars, gnomes , candles and fairylights and I couldn’t be happier about it.
I’m a soup snob. This cookbook given to me by my sister-in-law a million years ago still makes it debut in September every year like the glamorous workhorse she is.
As a self-proclaimed introvert who can go literal WEEKS without seeing another living being before noticing, may I say I have noticed a shift in my need for connection lately that has caught me by surprise. Lunches or coffee dates or Voxer messages or Marco Polos with friends and family have been full of such life-giving goodness. And, surprising only to myself, I want more of them. Like maybe on a -gasp- weekly basis. Who am I?
Professionally, I’m a writer and educator. This week has opened up some opportunities to continue to do that on my own terms, and I am tentatively hopeful about what the new year might bring. If you have a project or story that needs some help being delivered to the world or if you’ve read my work on some socials ( https://www.instagram.com/jennyvanderbergshannon/, https://www.facebook.com/jennyvanderbergshannon) and would like to collaborate, let’s chat!
Leading up to the big Turkey day, we try to eat every other cuisine that doesn’t remotely resemble a roast and some sides. Our favorite local spot to eat is
https://www.juniper-hill.com where you will, hand to God, have a Banh Mi Burger that will change your life. But if you can’t get to rural NJ anytime soon, this recipe is also delicious. https://themodernproper.com/pork-banh-mi-burger
May nourishment and nurturing be your anchors. May rest be hallowed in candlelight and paper stars. And if you have to eat your words, ( you’re in good company) we might as well make them delicious. Perhaps, together.