EVER(at)REST. I often think about the principle of rest. I think about cultivating it as a virtue. Finding rest in each moment. Creating space for rest, setting boundaries – to rest. Rest to the creative mind is a big open plain that inspires creativity. I often substitute rest with unhealthy actions and habits, like procrastinating on hard tasks, avoiding awkward interactions, escaping loud environments. You can escape the noise, delay the noise, but it’s not the same as carving out the time to let the noise of life fade away naturally. As much as I love my noise-cancelling headphones (and rely on them daily), there’s something of a rested heart entering a chaotic environment and being able to draw upon a peace and a calm that it’s stored up internally. I think you can guard and protect the habit of nurturing rest, but you can’t guard rest itself. You can’t force it on yourself in the moment. It settles on you. You can’t expect it, but you can find it in the unexpected. I think a restful heart can navigate the greatest of storms, set the temperature rather then measure or react to the temperature being set. Flip the coin and you get the alternative: A tempest in a teapot, or more commonly known as… a storm in a tea cup.