Person Refuge?

Image by Dizzy Girl via Flickr
Yesterday was the day every week that my family has chosen to set aside and rest. we use the word sabbath for that day. That word fits for us culturally, but I am becoming more and more aware that that word is also loaded with religious significance for many people. Sometimes, as I talk to people about their Spirits and their Universal Truths, I am struck by just how much those words that are closely tied to religion can be a real turn off. The words themselves seem to actually become roadblocks to some wonderful practices and ideas. Why that happens is probably fodder for another posting, and probably another blogger. Today though, I would like to take one word, sabbath, and deconstruct it. The concept itself is so important to serenity and fulfillment that it is worth blowing up the roadblock.

Sabbath- n - [Middle English sabat, from Old French sabbat and Old English sabat, both from Latin sabbatum, from Greek sabbaton, from Hebrew abbt, from bat, to cease, rest; see bt in Semitic roots.] Definition courtesy the free dictionary. com

To cease, to rest. To set aside all of the business and work of the other 6 days of the week and engage in stopping and resting. There is no religion tied to the word itself. Certainly, that connection comes up in the Judeo-Christian tradition, it is even one of the commandments but at it's root, the word and concept itself, sabbath simply means to cease and to rest.

Why rest? We seem to be so busy, to have so much to do. We know that there is no time to rest because in resting, something important won't get done. To answer why rest, let's look at nature:

• Plant crops in a field for too many consecutive years and the field will be depleted of nutrients
  
• Stay awake too long and there will be serious mental and physical consequences
• Trees and flowers all have seasons of growth and output followed by seasons of dormancy
  
• Wild animals have times of active hunting and gathering followed by periods or rest or in some cases, hibernation.

If any of these naturally occurring seasons of rest is skipped for too long a period of time, life can not continue. Rest, ceasing, seems to be built into the very fabric of nature.

To set aside one day a week in honor of who you are and Who created you is a gift. It is a gift to yourself, the fulfillment of your potential and to the universe itself. It is a way of respecting and nurturing the gift of life that was placed in you.

Call it what you need to, sabbath, rest day, refuge, sanctuary, cease and desist day, whatever works for you, just call it something and honor it. Set aside a day, every week, to not engage in business as usual. To honor the creation that you are and the Universe that Created you (in your own understanding). We provide wildlife refuges to protect animals from hunters, pollution, construction and noise, why do we think that we do not need that same protection once in a while. Pick a day and create your own "person refuge".

• Do you take time out of "business as usual" regularly?
• What would you do with that time if you took it?
• How would you include your family in those times?
• Can you figure out a way to try this, if not for a whole day, how about a morning?
• How has not taking a person refuge day impacted your body, Spirit and relationships in the past?