10 Things I’ve Learned in 10 years as a Creative Entrepreneur
NUMBER THREE: Discover the meaning of rest.
My 6th grade teacher gave me the nickname “Perpetual Motion.” I love motion. But I’ve been trying to drop “perpetual” for years now and learn the real meaning of the word “rest.”
Creatives never stop working. Inspiration doesn’t have set hours and it’s difficult to set boundaries. Sometimes I’m even still working and creating in my dreams. I recently realized its only when exercising that my mind slows down - hence the addiction to CrossFit. :)
The path to rest has been about discovering the deeper meaning of “simplicity” and “slowing down.” Simplicity is not just having less or doing fewer things. And slowing down doesn’t mean existing at a crawl.
In a recent poem to my daughter Haven on the meaning of her name I described rest as the “here-ness that hugs the Holy Now.” We try to make it all about the physical, but Rest is a profoundly spiritual reality. And we don’t ever “arrive” but can discover and live within her rhythms.
The truth is I can be spinning on the craziest ride at the fair or during the craziest day at work and still know rest. This has by far been my greatest challenge as an entrepreneur but also one of the most life-changing journeys.
I’ve posted this poem before but thought it worth repeating here.
Haven
A solace of still in the storms of hurry
A shelter for the spirit to sigh
A prayer of peace in the woes of worry
A glimpse of more than meets the eye
~
A symphony of silence, mist and calm
A power that’s breaking Busy’s vow
A Sabbath rest, a healing balm
A Here-ness that hugs the holy Now
~
A hideaway held in wide open spaces
A hidden, secret self laid bare
A slowness of soul while everyone races
A breathless song, a wordless prayer
~
A romance between Rest and Receive
A floor for Mystery to dance with Fact
A room for Doubt to greet Believe
A field for Whole to play with Cracked
~
Haven, your name is taking flight
She will soar for Freedom's sake
Into the depths of Hurry's night
And bask instead in Worthy's wake
~
Haven, life is yours to pause
Your life sings the Spirit's song
To hear not earth's, but Heaven's applause
A path of notes to skip along
~
Haven is both a name and call
A gentle breeze of God's own breath
A house of God, no roof or wall
A faith that life can come through death
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