Hello dear one,

Last week I sent you the Radical Rest Kit, and I confessed that I'd built it while discovering I had, ironically, run right past my own needs for rest in the process. A lot of you wrote back to check on me, to laugh with me at their own recognition of themselves in similar moments, and that reassured me that I’m not the only one. Thank you.

I've been thinking all week about what real rest actually looks like. Because the picture in our heads, the one of someone in bed, doing nothing, with no responsibilities for a whole weekend, is so far from most of our lives that it might as well be a fantasy. And if rest is something that only happens on a perfect Sunday with no one needing anything from us, then most of us will never rest. We'll just keep waiting.

When we did the first rest retreat in March, I had this idea that I would have a weekend filled with fun things that were just what I wanted to do. What I realized during the weekend was that real life kept happening anyway.

But it started getting me to pay attention to what rest actually looked like for me in real life. Here's what I noticed.

It looked like sitting on the couch with my cat in my lap while she slept, belly up, completely surrendered, while I did nothing but feel her warmth and watch her breathe.

It looked like standing in my kitchen with my hands covered in paint, no plan, no one to please, completely absorbed in making something.

It looked like going to the beach with my husband to watch the sunset together, even if only for a few minutes, asking nothing of us except to stop and look. Feel the breeze. Watch the birds.

None of those are someone in bed, although that has also been a choice if that’s what I most need. None of these examples are doing nothing, though that can also be a choice. Some of them are quite active. And all of them are rest, because they brought me back to myself. They dropped my heart rate. They let my nervous system exhale.

That's the work, I think. Not chasing the fantasy version of rest. Noticing what actually fills you back up, in the life you actually have. And then claiming it, on purpose, before you've run yourself all the way down.

Before your body chooses the kind of rest and timing that don’t work for you, as I know we’ve all probably experienced. That’s when we get sick, or break a leg so we actually stop doing and doing.

When it comes down to it, rest is about allowing space for yourself to just be.

Which brings me to what I want to invite you to.

This June, from the 19th through the 21st, I'm hosting a live online retreat with my dear friend and co-host Meredith Alvarado, the Radical Rest Retreat: Together, Wherever You Are. Three days, in community, exploring what real rest looks like in your actual life. No rigid schedule. Nothing you have to do. Two live calls to connect, orient, share, and the rest of the time is yours to do as you wish, knowing others are out there doing what is right for them, too. It’s space to come back to yourself, with people who won't try to fix you.

It costs $150. Registration is open now.

If the timing doesn't work, or if a live weekend isn't what you need, there's also a self-paced version you can move through whenever you're ready. Same teachings, your own timing, $50.

Both of them, the live one and the self-paced one, are linked below.

​Or move through it on your own time- $50​

Let me know what questions you have!

Be curious, be kind, start with yourself.

With love,

Rebecca

P.S. The podcast has four episodes out now, and I keep hearing from people that they're listening on walks, in the car, while making dinner. Meredith and I would love to be in your ears too. You can find Thriving Humans wherever you listen, or here: bit.ly/th-podcast​