Why Sabbath? Well, let us begin with what it is, and before I go on let me say that I consider myself a Sabbath neophyte. Most of my knowledge and understanding about it is learned from others, especially my dad’s teachings on the subject, and I’m completely lost in the practice of it, but I want to share what I’ve learned with you if you’ll hear me out. If you aren’t religious, just bear with me; I promise this is for everyone.
Some Sabbath Factoids:
It’s in the Ten Commandments, which is the same list that the laws “do not murder” and “do not steal” are found in, and it’s pretty specific that everyone (including work animals and slaves) is supposed to take a full day off of their normal work once a week.
God took the first Sabbath at creation. On the seventh day, after He had finished making the world and Adam and Eve, He rested. Now, I think a disclaimer is appropriate here: I do not care how the world was physically made, or how long it actually took, or what day of the week the Sabbath is, (because the Bible says very little about all of that) lest we miss the crucial point that even God rested and He seems to think we should follow His example because He put it in the Ten Commandments for Pete’s sake.
Sabbath, which comes from the Hebrew word shabbat, literally means “to cease”
So… why is this ancient, biblical practice going to help us combat the negative effects of the Internet? I’m getting there, hold your horses.
One of the most debilitating effects on my well-being that I blame the Internet for is this sense that I can never keep up. My accomplishments are never sufficient. My success is never big enough. My abilities are never adequate. I am endlessly comparing myself, my home, my work, my LIFE to this impossible, made-up standard. I actually believe this lie that I CAN do everything, have everything, be everything (re: Pinterest is evil), and it is crippling. I read these blogs, see these beautiful products on Etsy, hear these success stories and wonder, “what am I doing wrong?”
With some perspective I can easily see how silly my self-doubt is and remember the good work I have accomplished. But when I don’t allow myself that perspective, when I let myself get bogged down and entrenched in that mire of perfectionism and sensationalism and greed and ambition, it’s impossible to see that. And here is where I can’t blame the Internet for this experience I have over and over again… if I’m not comparing myself to the things I see online, I compare myself to the artists who have displays at the local coffee houses, to the lovely families I’ve met who are living the homesteading dream, and to the people I pass on the street who wear super-rad fair trade organic hand-dyed clothes and accessories And I lust after the vintage items in the window after window of antique stores on Soquel Drive, and the fancy American-made furniture at the outlets on 41st, and the smells wafting from the roasters and breweries and restaurants by the wharf.
The Internet is not to blame for my dissatisfaction or for the frantic, anxious pace I try to keep in order to make my life the way I think it should be. I am.
This is why we need Sabbath: Sabbath is a sacred space to cease and regain that perspective. In Sabbath there is no work. No comparison. No getting ahead and no falling behind. Sabbath is allowing your self and your life to just be. It is stopping long enough to remember that no one is forcing you to stay in the rat race, that your best effort is all that is asked of you, and that you have done enough. Sabbath frees you to appreciate instead of to covet. Sabbath is a time to bask in the provision of God, and to take back your worth from the hands of men.
This is why we need Sabbath: our work, our responsibilities, even our loved ones are constantly pushing and pulling us in a million directions. We are fractured. We learn how to function at a pace that we can barely maintain, but we are not whole people. As a nation we are sleep deprived and plagued by chronic pain and mental illness and we mask most of these ailments with pills, believing the lie that we can still do it all. We need Sabbath. We need to force ourselves to say enough is enough, I am DONE. It’s usually the case that this point comes in the form of a breakdown, after we’ve run ourselves ragged (it is for me, anyway. My productivity is cyclical, and characterized by intense, obsessive bouts of high output and the inevitable and rapid burnout. I have always struggled with following through on new projects because of this). Sabbath is the preventative measure we require, the rest we need, to continue to face our daily lives, and it must be defended tooth and nail.
At this point I have a million questions and very few answers… I have no idea what it looks like to “cease.” I have no clue what to do with myself! Is it even possible to spend an entire day doing nothing? What “counts” as work? What if I only do the part of my work that I enjoy? Or do I just have to sit around meditating all day? The concept is so foreign to me that it seems like just an idealistic dream, impossible to achieve. But I have to believe that it is possible to practice Sabbath, and that a nation of workaholics desperately needs it.
I have a few ideas that I’ll share in my next post. Until that time, I wonder what your thoughts are? Have you set up boundaries for your work and commitments that help keep you sane? Do you practice Sabbath in some form? I would love to hear your answers and thoughts. Let’s grow!
♥Ciara Kay
