Making Space to do Nothing
My experience with Sabbath
I am not Jewish or Christian, but I love the idea of Sabbath — a day of rest, contemplation, and abstinence from work. I learned about the benefits of it on Dr. Laurie Santos’s amazing podcast, The Happiness Lab.
A recurring theme on the podcast is the role of “time affluence” in promoting happiness. Put simply, it is important for one to feel like they have enough time on a daily basis to do the things they enjoy doing, in order to feel happy. Conversely, experiencing “time poverty” can erode our sense of well-being.
A few months ago, I felt like I was running on a treadmill. I physically felt like my lungs were constricting, and that I had way too many things that needed to get done at work and around the house. I would finish my last meeting for the day only to realize that I needed to cook, clean, go to bed early, so that I could wake up for an early morning class the next day. Just thinking about these things overwhelmed me, and left me drained. I’d then spend the rest of the evening plopped in front of the TV, dining on take-out.
Since my to-dos kept piling up over the week, I would spend my weekends catching up to them. As an avid people-pleaser, I’d have also committed to drinking/dining/brunching with friends over the weekend. These promises would loom before me as the weekend approached. And then Monday would begin all over again.
Dread.
To end this cycle of misery, I decided to observe a day of Sabbath (as recommended by Dr. Santos and her guest on the podcast), where I say no to everything and everyone by default, and spend the day sitting, breathing, walking, and reading. I committed to spending the day doing the things I liked but didn’t usually have the time to do. Initially, I felt uncomfortable with the unstructured time. I also felt uncomfortable saying no to my friends (although they were extremely supportive). Eventually, after about 3–4 weeks, I truly started looking forward to Sundays.
Sundays became a sort of anchor and a haven for me. Since I wasn’t doing it for religious reasons, I developed my own version of the Sabbath. I went on leisurely walks, read books that I’d been putting off, took naps, and listened to music. I cooked warm, comforting, nutritious meals for myself, and took long showers. I even started pausing to literally smell the roses, and made time to just sit. down.
No matter what happened during the week, I knew that I could count on the upcoming Sunday to heal me.
In our hyper-productive, capitalistic society where our rest needs to be “earned”, taking a day out to do non-consumptive and non-commercial activities purely for ourselves can feel like an act of rebellion.
“One day a week I seek to rest from earthly toil and sorrow. Revitalized, I find the strength to battle new tomorrows.”
— Richelle E. Goodrich
Since I started observing Sabbath, I dread Mondays less. I feel like I have more time to do the things I love, and I really do think that feeling “time affluent” is improving my sense of well-being.
Dear reader, to you I recommend a day off — truly off.
