The Necessity of Downtime & Recuperation

Summer is a busy time in my home state of Wisconsin. Since we are subject to harsh winters which tend to keep a person isolated indoors much of the time, we tend to “overcompensate” once the warm weather hits.

As soon as the first hints of a lighter breeze move through the air in springtime we are already overwhelming our summer calendars with plans: camping trips, family reunions, days at the beach, barbeques, gatherings at cottages, hiking trips, baseball games, and on and on it goes.

Every year in summertime I kind of think “This is moving too fast,” but yet the pace remains frenzied, always in line with the blistering temperatures.

It’s only mid-July and I sort of feel exhausted already. Just this past month in the way of recreation there’s been: a hiking trip with family to Effigy Mounds National Monument in Iowa; a “guys reunion” weekend with old friends up north at a cottage; a surprise 50^th anniversary party for an aunt and uncle (the picture here of me with my parents, brother and cousins is from that event); a busy 4^th of July weekend at a cousin’s lakeside condo; the construction of a new firepit at my brother’s house (and the subsequent enjoyment of that firepit); and daytrips to the Lake Michigan beachfront too numerous to count.

This is all life-giving stuff—time in nature and with loved ones—but with it comes the necessity of downtime and recuperation. There must be a balance to life or else we feel the effects of a scale tipped too far in one direction.

Downtime and concerted efforts toward recuperation: that seems to be the definition of the healing process at times, doesn’t it? For many years perhaps life just moves so very fast that we can’t even remember how one chapter separates from the others. But then Boom—we are forced to slow down and really concentrate on caring for ourselves. Health and wellness become the priority whereas once these things were maybe taken for granted; spiritual life becomes a primary focus again because we must pray and find God each day to survive; the energy for a furious pace of activity just isn’t there all the time, and the body and mind seem to crave tranquility and rest more than adventure and busyness.

But a person can feel guilty, or sorrowful sometimes in the midst of this necessary healing time. Again, we are so used to a frantic pace of life that it feels unfamiliar, and in general society gives medals for checking off “to-do” lists and simply stay busy, busy, busy.

Today I would like to say two things to you:

• Remember that you are accomplishing something important by focusing on healing and wellness right now. There is nothing more laudable than tending to the health of your body, mind and soul. Sometimes “less is more” when it comes to what we need in healing: less stimulation, fewer commitments, and less overthinking it all.

Today tell yourself simply this: “I am doing important work in healing this week, whatever that looks like.”

• There will come a time in the future for more activity, and it will be made possible by the work you are doing in healing right now. Even if this present healing time feels like it is coming “at the expense” of the rest of your life, please remember that it is in fact being done “in service of” the rest of your life. Without this recuperation, the good (and yes perhaps very busy) life you want in the future isn’t possible. One step leads to the next.

I sincerely hope that you are having a blessed summer so far. If you are busy and active then please remember to schedule in necessary time for rest and recovery. And if you are in a season of life that is by necessity more downtime than busy time, then please remember that it could be no other way—healing is asking this of you, and you are accomplishing a lot by listening to the calls of your body, mind and soul.

God bless the beginning of this week of healing for you,

Michael