“Rest:
as beautiful a task as any.
how else can we remember to breathe?
to think?
to regain the strength
to take on the world with all our senses?
to dream?”
— Shellen Lubin
This week’s practices for Living Well follow the seasonal shift from tending and harvesting to letting go — and, yes, resting.
Late summer teaches gratitude for what grew. No season repeats itself, yet nature’s rhythm is trustworthy. It reminds us that endless growth is neither possible nor desirable, and that rest is not a pause from life but part of its design.
It also teaches us to release the growing season. Some things flourished, others faltered. Now we metabolize what we noticed. Application comes later — and even then, who knows what the next season will bring? Dry years, wet years, hot years, cool ones. Our task is simply to meet what comes.
During the growing months, our attention narrows toward tending. As the season wanes, our attention can widen again, noticing what has accumulated inside us and around us. One mirrors the other. Letting go doesn’t need to be rushed; we’ll know when it’s time. Our nature will tell us, if we’re not consumed by “more” or “better.” To everything there is a season.
The season isn’t finished, but the signs are appearing. They call to something ancient in us — something trustworthy, though rarely remembered.
These practices are a pathway to noticing what might otherwise slip past. They aren’t about productivity or improvement. They cultivate the conditions in which we can experience ourselves without demand. May they be useful to you this week.