The Four Rs

 There are four activities (or perhaps in two cases, non-activities) which I find to be vital for my soul's continuing well-being. And this past few days, I have been indulging in all four of them, to my delight and joy... And for me, they are summed up in this lucky photo of my favourite beach in all the world, Benar Beach, which was taken earlier this year. There is something about the "permanence in motion" (to quote Stephen Donaldson) of sunlit waves which restores my soul. 

Benar Beach in mid-Wales (Sue Woolley)

What are my Four Rs? Rest, Relaxation, Reading, and that well-known honorary R, WRiting. I drove up to spend a few days with a very dear friend on Sunday afternoon, straight after leading worship in Shrewsbury (because that meant I was part way there already). My friend lives in a tiny hamlet in the Lake District and over the past few years, I have fallen into the very pleasant habit of spending a few days in her hospitable company three or four times a year. Both of us enjoy our time together very much.

The shape of my visits is unvarying - we indulge in extensive bouts of the three Cs - Canasta, Crochet and Conversation. As the days pass, I find myself sleeping in later and later, which does me good. And also travel to delightful towns which have good wool shops and bookshops. I will be travelling home with three new books... Bill Bryson's Dictionary for Writers and Editors, Write to be Published by Nicola Morgan, and Illuminated Alphabets by Patricia Carter, all bought secondhand - wonderful! I've already read the Nicola Morgan book - I knew I recognised the name - I enjoyed her first novel, Mondays are Red, about a teenager with synaethesia - more than twenty years ago.

Reading is the only constant activity in my life. During 2023 so far, I have read 95 books. To be fair, many of those are re-reads, which take less time, but I have also discovered some new joys: Fingersmith by Sarah Waters, Writing Down the Bones and Old Friend from Far Away by Natalie Goldberg, Femina by Janina Ramirez, and The Poet's Manual and Rhyming Dictionary by Frances Stillman. All delightful, and in some cases, very useful.

How do you restore your soul?

Time to Relax

 American journalist, Sydney J. Harris, once wrote, "The time to relax is when you don't have the time for it."

And there are times when we look at the postcard which came with this week's quote, when we sigh in longing, wishing we were there, on that comfortable hammock, looking out to sea and relaxing. 

At first sight, Harris's advice may seem paradoxical - how on earth are we supposed to relax when we don't have the time for it? It might even make us feel angry - what the **** is he talking about? But over the years, I have found that it is very good advice indeed. Because when we get too busy, rushing from one task to the next without even a breathing space in between, that is when it becomes impossible to pay proper attention to what we are supposed to be doing, and the results are rarely good. 

Yet if we strive to take a more leisured approach to the to-do list, giving ourselves a little resting space between each task, we will be able to move from one to the next with a clearer mind, and not get so wound up in what we *have to* (which is often self-imposed pressure) get done. 

I believe that this advice has become ever more important in the past few years, as more and more of us have begun to work from home, following the pandemic. And if we are not careful, it can be difficult to maintain proper boundaries between "work life" and "home life". Yet boundaries are so important, otherwise we will never be able to properly rest, relax.

One thing I have begun to do in the past few years, is to try to only answer work-related e-mails when I'm using my work PC. Rather than when they pop up on my phone. Because if I'm not sitting at my work PC, or doing ministerial work outside my home, I really shouldn't be working. And answering work-related e-mails *is* work. Our mobile phones can be a tremendous source of temptation - they are always to hand, constantly pinging for our attention (unless we've turned all the alerts off). I blogged about my own mobile's insidious influence here.

So these days, I try to consciously separate work time from relax time. And feel very much better for it. How do you maintain the boundaries between work and home?

My Little Piece of Heaven

Marcel Proust, the French author of the famous In Search of Lost Time, advises us to "Always try to keep a little piece of heaven above your life."

And that is exactly what I have been doing this week. After getting this Sunday's service written and recorded (on Monday!) I set off on the long journey up the M6 to my best friend's cottage in Cumbria. Since then, I have enjoyed three gorgeous days in her good company, conversing, playing endless games of canasta, and sitting in the lounge crocheting. It has been peaceful and relaxing and good.

Coming up here has been my "little piece of heaven" for some time now. When I'm tired and frazzled after long weeks and months of solid work, she is kind enough to offer me a bolt hole, where the only thing I have to think about is enjoying her company.

Whenever I drive back home, there is the feeling of leaving behind a haven of peace and re-entering my real life. I'll be leaving tomorrow morning, as I have a service at Shrewsbury on Sunday. And that is good too. I am blessed in my vocation. But sometimes, just sometimes, it is good to spend a few days away from it all. Then I return home rejuvenated and relaxed, ready to reconnect with the wider world.

Thank you, Celia.

The Importance of Rest

I love this week's quotation, from Psalm 116: "Return, O my soul, to your rest, for the Lord has dealt bountifully with you."

Which fits in beautifully with my mood at this moment. I'm just back from a gorgeous week's holiday in Solva / Solfach in Pembrokeshire. The weather has been glorious - blue skies and sunshine every day, and we walked along the Pembrokeshire Coast Path, visited St David's, poofled around Solva and generally had a wonderful time. The Lord did indeed deal bountifully with us. And I am so grateful. When we awoke to an overcast sky this morning, we knew our holiday must be over.

Most importantly, I have rested, relaxed, and not worried about anything. We got up when we felt like it (except on one day, when we had to be at the RNLI station in St Justinian for a boat trip out to Ramsey Island, at 10.00 am); ate what and when we felt like - Pembrokeshire has several *wonderful* icecream shops - and I felt my soul exhale. 

No-one is meant to work and work, 24/7. We all need a regular interval of peace in which to be still and allow our souls to catch up with us. Not often a whole week, but I try to ensure that I have one day in the week when I do not do anything work-related. I might go out for a day-trip with my Dearly Beloved, or might just go for a walk in the Forest, then do some writing and some crochet. 

When did you last rest?

And ... Breathe!

This morning I forced myself to do something I find incredibly stressful - I filled in my 2015/16 tax return.

I don't know why I find it so difficult - it should be simple enough, but every year it reduces me to a quivering jelly of stress, on the verge of meltdown.

I think that the reason is I'm terrified of doing it wrong. Finance and I do not mix - I'm good at keeping on top of my personal finances, and keep track of my income and expenditure by checking my bank statements every month, and keeping all receipts etc. But I could *never* be a Treasurer - the idea of having the responsibility for other people's money freaks me out big time. I take a look at a column of figures, and my brain switches off. Every. Single. Time. I take my hat off to the Treasurers of congregations, district associations and societies - they do a fabulous job.

I managed to get through the process this year by phoning a friend in the midst of my panic, who was reassuring. He told me to leave it for a few minutes, then go back to it. And it worked. I (and my brain) just needed a breathing space, a time away from the stress of it all.

It occurs to me that this advice is something I could take to heart more often. So I'm forming a new (a bit late) resolution for this coming year: "If you feel stressed out about something, physically separate yourself from it, find a quiet place, and just breathe."

Just breathe. Give yourself a break. Give your body, mind, and spirit a rest. Just breathe.