Recovering The Lost Benefit Of Sabbath

Dear friends,

Many people,

Especially anyone brought up in the Judeo-Christian tradition,

Will be familiar with the idea of Sabbath.

The keeping of the Sabbath arises from the following words which appear in the book of Genesis.

By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing,

So on the seventh day he rested from all his work.

The observance is particularly strict in the Orthodox Jewish tradition,

Where any manual work whatsoever is considered a breach of the command to observe the Sabbath as a day of rest.

The Sabbath has been practiced in the Christian tradition also but in a less strict sense.

With the passage of time,

The idea of setting aside time for rest in this way has been lost for the vast majority of us.

Even the most casual glance at our way of life today shows that people are rarely at rest unless they are actually asleep.

The song New York,

New York released by Frank Sinatra in 1980 refers to New York as the city that never sleeps.

New York is far from the only restless place in our ever more frantic world.

Now it's clearly impossible,

Not to mention undesirable,

For anyone to try to bring our modern world together to observe a day of rest.

Is there even one of us who would wish to see all about us coming to a complete standstill?

But it doesn't have to be a case of all or nothing.

It's not necessary that the world be totally still before any of us enjoy the last benefit of the Sabbath.

It should be possible,

And it is desirable,

For each of us to establish a Sabbath spirit of our own on a day and at a time that suits ourselves.

Our bodies and our minds can be restored if we learn to regularly come to a standstill and allow ourselves to simply be.

With that in mind maybe we could practice stillness for just a minute right here and right now.

So close your eyes.

Give yourself a break.

Take in a deep breath.

Hold for a second or two and then let it out with a big sigh.

Don't you feel a little more relaxed?

So let's enjoy that feeling again.

A big breath in.

Again gratefully holding for a second or two.

And release some more tension as you let the breath out with a big sigh.

And now the promised 60 seconds of silence.

Know where to go,

Nothing to do,

Just a little music to help you on your way.

Welcome back.

I hope you're feeling a little more relaxed now.

So what might we do to rediscover the benefits of Sabbath?

The first point to make is that it will be counterproductive to consider this idea as set in stone.

Yet another task for the to-do list.

Another something to make us feel bad if we don't succeed.

This is not what we're aiming for here.

But how about one day a week when we will not automatically check social media?

One day a week when we will buy nothing at all?

What about one day a week when we will deliberately set aside an hour or two for prayer or reflection?

One day a week where we might each make three phone calls to people who would appreciate a call?

Or a day when we take a gentle walk in nature and notice the beauty of the world about us?

And I'm sure every one of us can add to this list of desirable actions.

These are approaches that we can forget to do as we fall into the habit of treating each day as the same as the last.

Just another day.

What a pity to see the sun shining down and we failing to open our eyes to see the wonder of it all.

We miss the opportunity for desirable actions as our lives fall through the black hole that is a life lived without allowing time for quiet reflection.

This is not a set of suggestions all of them to be followed on the same day.

Just pick one for this week and one for next.

The idea is to provide ourselves with an opportunity,

Hopefully once a week,

To step off the train treadmill of the ordinary and escape the drudgery of the routine.

Think of how good it would be,

Even once a week,

To turn off the autopilot switch and to allow space for our spirits to operate freely.

Now the best laid plans can come up against the brick wall of reality and I'm sure you've all seen that happen time and time again.

So what if something happens,

Some demand is placed upon us,

Some opportunity to perform a good deed,

A call to lend a helping hand.

Then of course we abandon the plan,

We do the good deed and we come back to our Sabbath plan another time.

The Sabbath reminds us to make time for being rather than doing.

And to reflect and give thanks for all the many benefits that we enjoy even in our most difficult times.

The Sabbath is a gift that comes to us from the Judeo-Christian tradition but it can be adapted to benefit people of many different traditions in a very different world from the world in which the commandment was issued for the first time.

So may you be well.

May you be happy.

May you be at peace.

May you make space in your life for the doing of nothing.

This will not be an empty space but a container for your hopes.

A space where awareness and gratitude live,

Where imagination runs free.

A space where your life can find its meaning.

May this be so for you and for me.

Namaste.