Our Bodies Know What They Need: Listen to Them!

Daily writing prompt

Do lazy days make you feel rested or unproductive?

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Sunday, I asked one of my fellow church members about his wife’s absence because I had never seen them separate during church. He leaned into my ear and whispered with no small amount of shame that she was playing hooky. I told him that if the body told her to rest, then she must really need it. We have been programmed as Americans that if we are not productive every minute of the day, we are failing the culture. I can remember my aunts telling us that idle hands are the devil’s workshop, and I believed it so well that the belief took root in my soul.

If I was not washing clothes, doing the dishes, or cleaning bathrooms on my days off, it felt as if I was wasting time that could be spent being productive and not being lazy. Sitting with a book and reading all morning felt unproductive and un-American. My children started calling me a fanatic.

Then, I became ill, suffering from complete physical and mental exhaustion because you can only do so much before the body rebels for the rest it needs to keep you sane and whole. In the hospital, I finally comprehended that you must listen to your body. If you don’t listen, it will continue to deteriorate until you are flat on your back and can’t do anymore.

We have just returned from spending 18 days in Spain and Portugal, and this trip was different. I have finally embraced the European habit of long meals and walks, rather than trying to see everything touristy in the cities I visit. One of our tours included lunch, consisting of soup, salad, entree, dessert, cheese, and coffee Everyone had wine but I stuck to water. The food was excellent. I thought we were wasting time with so much more to see on the tour. But as I watched the others settle down and enjoy those moments of camaraderie and learning about each other’s lives and prior trips, I thought there wasn’t anything better to do.

My body was tired because as a seventy-something, the body is more insistent on rest these days. I gave into the need and enjoyed myself. The next day, I put the itinerary away, gifted my husband the opportunity to enjoy disc golf in Portugal alone, and rested the whole day with a book on my Kindle. It was a productive day of just resting and listening to my body. The body knows what it needs, so learn to listen to it. You don’t want your body as an enemy! There is no such thing as a lazy day or an unproductive day to our tired bodies.