Rest is a blessing, not an escape

Rest is often experienced as an escape: turning off the brain, numbing oneself with screens, getting away until it is time to return to the grind. But true rest is not fleeing from reality; it is regaining your gaze to see it well. The original meaning of a feast day is just that: stopping to contemplate and give thanks. Raising your head from work and being able to say "how beautiful life is", giving thanks for what you have, being with your loved ones, with God. It is not wasted time: it is time that orders everything else. Rest like this leaves you different from a mere binge of entertainment. It does not leave you more dazed, but more whole. Try resting by blessing, not just by escaping.