I am participating in a book study regarding the Ten Commandments that has inspired some interesting thoughts. The latest discussion was about honoring the Sabbath. Frankly, I had not previously spent much time musing on the meaning of sabbath. However the study did spark a surprising reaction. The upshot is that I have begun to see sabbath as engaging in reset. By the term reset, I mean to pause and rethink where I am going in life and relationships.
It has been refreshing as sabbath should be, to see things with new eyes. I have always moved merrily along for years without analyzing whether I am on the right path. Here I am in my late eighties now recognizing that I have lived almost my entire life always engaged in striving to be productive whether at work or in volunteering. I have concluded that I need to back off some things and take on fresh adventures at lower stress levels than in the past. To that end I have already resigned from one activity and taken on a new one that gives me more comfortable socialization.
Of course in this blog I feel obligated to comment on my skiing aspirations. The new season is coming in a month or so. My body is beginning to show the challenges of aging. I made it to the slopes last season for 80 days. In my reset mode, I am not sure I am up to that much activity this year. I guess I will have to reset my goals and be less obsessed with numerical records and simply see skiing as an opportunity to refresh as needed.
I think that everyone whether they are religious or not or young or old, could benefit from interpreting sabbath as reset. Seeing things through new eyes can reinvigorate and heal body and soul.