Rest

Sometimes we are tired, impatient, struggling to concentrate, and feeling that something within us has broken down. We try to strive harder, to learn more, to think positively, to pray with intention, and to force ourselves back on track. But sometimes the soul is not asking for more effort. The body is simply tired. Rav Kook describes a person who tries to fill spiritual weariness with more spiritual exertion, and in doing so 'adds straw to the fire.' The statement sounds simple: one needs to rest. But to fulfill this simplicity requires humility. To admit that we are not machines, that not every decline is a deep crisis, and that not every difficulty is solved by force of will. To know how to stop before we break, to sleep, to eat properly, to breathe, and to let the body return to itself. Sometimes the path to the joy of life, to inner order, and to the powers of the soul does not pass through more effort. It begins with rest.