The sun bursts his total energy. The trees bent forward. Grass leaves folding. Thirsty genthilang rests, singing and dipping her cucak in soothing food. I quiet my body to sphere a little more oxygen. Everything begins and continues… insufficient at first in the mid-day is to extend further joy and aliveness. It is the moment to collaborate a tranquil heart and mind. A thin skin of wind infuses to live modestly, with no greediness. Over… The sun now begins conserving and gentler… Resting is the starting point to embrace a sense of liberation from the slavery of mind and things…

Once we embark on a spiritual and psychological path, we, as seekers, may discover a previously expected and unexpected realm of subtle, psychic reality. I describe the spiritual path as a return journey to our original home. We encounter safe and unsafe landscapes. Sometimes we need to hike the hill or mountain, and sometimes we need to go down the valley. Finally, we need to pause and take a break to rest. There are times on the journey when patience can be worn out. The journey seems too long, and we cannot see the end of it.

This journey began in our mother’s womb. It is not a journey in geographical space or calendar time. The most challenging part is that we cannot see the horizon before us because our inner eye and heart are not ready to see it. Our sight is not clear. We may see through the layers of our perceptions, preconceptions, and beliefs, or we may misunderstand the journey concept.

Our spirit is often lifted when we see the horizon ahead (i.e., hope), but as we walk toward it, it seems to stay the same distance ahead. As we journey through the process, we realize that the horizon is not something to be held. The process is a journey of accomplishment, not only success. Life’s journey consists of internal and external conflicts as well as joy and harmony, which lead to the wholeness of life.

The most important thing is, regularly, we need to lie down on the sand, resting momentarily, listening to the whisper of the wind, sensing the touch of the sun, or watching the clouds float across the sky… We talk to our body and muscles. We listen to them and let them have a moment to heal… We rest between the movements of breathing in and out… We rest from the moment of wanting to be perfect parents to the moment when we let go the perfection. Finally, we just sit and enjoy the gladness and sweetness of the surroundings, such as our colleague, friend, partner, companion, wife, husband, and children, without any expectations or demands. We must rest from “greed,” which manifests signs of unhealthy compulsiveness and proportional attachment to specific ideas, beliefs, dogmas, or things.

Rest is about the work of the inner soul, and we let it happens. We need rest from fear and anxiety. If we can rest for fifteen to thirty minutes daily, we will appreciate the meaning of doing it. We must liberate our souls from overwork, mind slavery, or self-slavery. No further justification for the benefits of doing work at that moment. We just rest most harmoniously.

Significant clarification: Rest is not a matter of sleeping or not doing anything (i.e., idleness, laziness, and mission-less) because rest is an active way of attaining liberation and transformation, which brings a sense of gladness, joy, happiness, and growth in personal life and others. The unthinkable part is that the rest transports us closer to our noble mission and destination.

Rony Kusnadi, Ph.D.