The Power of Pause

WOW – whoever thought of creating weekends was a genius!!  I know that the tradition of taking time to PAUSE from the everyday work and busy-ness of life has been handed down through the centuries, and comes from many cultures. In our own culture I believe that we adopted our US concept of weekends from the Jewish tradition… which spawned the Christian tradition.

Rabbi Michael Lerner sums up the practice and its value so nicely in the August, 2008 edition of Shift: At the Frontiers of Consciousness magazine (pg. 31): “… we need to develop a practice of taking time for awe and wonder at the grandeur of creation. The Jewish world has done this by honoring the Sabbath. One 25-hour period a week (Friday night at sunset until after the stars come out on Saturday night), religious Jews stop doing anything connected to work, money, or advancement. We disconnect from our computers, televisions, and cell phones, stay out of our cars, resist cleaning the house or catching up with shopping, and devote this time to the celebration of nature, joy, and pleasure. We rest, make love, eat well, meditate, pray, study (but nothing goal-oriented or useful beyond learning for its own sake), and rejoice in all that is good in our lives. It’s a practice that all social change agents would benefit from. It’s best on a Saturday or Sunday, and even better if you can share parts of it with others who have been similarly immersed in the pace and pressure of work and life in a materialist society and who are trying to change that model.”

In our culture some of us continue to race to meet deadlines on weekends. Others plant themselves in front of the TV to watch sports programs. How would our lives be different if we truly PAUSED for at least one day during each week to look around us and enjoy what we have and who we have to live with.

Since Martin and I connected almost five years ago we have made it a point to “PLAY” as much as possible on the weekends. This takes so many forms, and they are all FUN!!  Even if we are also getting something done in a goal sense, when we are together, sharing, and connecting as we perform certain tasks makes it seem like play, and even the most mundane task becomes fun again.

I refuse to totally give up my weekends anymore and this practice has paid great dividends to me in my quality of life and in the quality of my relationships with my loved ones. I highly recommend it!!