Linda Hopkins Coaching

The apostles gathered around Jesus, and told him all that they had done and taught. He said to them, ‘Come away to a deserted place all by yourselves and rest a while.’ For many were coming and going, and they had no leisure even to eat.  And they went away in the boat to a deserted place by themselves. Mark 6: 30-32

How do you do days off, rest and sabbath in these days of lockdown and restrictions? It hasn’t been an easy time as normal rhythms and patterns have been disrupted and we can’t get to the places that instil a sense of rest and peace and recuperation in us. I’ve been thinking about Sabbath a bit lately, and have throughly enjoyed reading Nicola Slee’s book ‘Sabbath: the hidden heartbeat of our lives’ and my friend Andy Percey’s book on the theme: ‘Infused with life: exploring God’s gift of rest in a world of busyness’. At times I’ve found it a real effort to switch off and rest, and even on the days when I have nothing particular to do my brain sometimes refuses to let me switch off, but I’m really trying hard at it! I’ve recently been reading some of Mary Oliver’s wonderful poetry, and this particular poem seems an invitation to Sabbath rest and stillness. Come away and rest a while.

Today

Today I’m flying low and I’m

not saying a word.

I’m letting all the voodoos of ambition sleep.

The world goes on as it must,

the bees in the garden rumbling a little,

the fish leaping, the gnats getting eaten.

And so forth.

But I’m taking the day off.

Quiet as a feather.

I hardly move though really I’m traveling

a terrific distance.

Stillness. One of the doors

into the temple.

(Mary Oliver, 2012, A Thousand Mornings)