I want to remind you of something ancient today…
you’re allowed to rest even when things aren’t done.
Not because it’s convenient.
Not because everything is finished.
But because your body is a living ecosystem — not a machine — and ecosystems need cycles.
For years, I ignored that.
I treated myself like endless summer: produce, grow, give, go.
I used to think rest had to be earned.
Like I needed to finish the entire list, clean the whole house, respond to every message, and magically become caught up on life before I could even think about slowing down.
I used to stay up until all hours of the night trying to finish the hundreds of projects I had. Sometimes it was work that didn't get done during the day, sometimes it was an art/craft project, other times it was creating an offer for my soulpreneurship, sometimes it was cleaning the house, sometimes it was wrapping up the kitchen project I started earlier and forgot about (think broths, marinades, homemade protein bars, dehydrating herbs, etc).
I still had to wake up first thing in the morning ... and the cycle would begin again. With me on little sleep and relying on caffeine.
But here’s what I learned the hard way:
There is no finish line.
There’s always one more thing to do, one more email, one more responsibility waiting its turn.
And if you only rest after everything is handled, you’ll never rest at all.
But the Earth never does that.
Even the most vibrant forest has moments where it goes still, pulls energy inward, sheds what’s unnecessary, and lets the soil breathe.
Humans forget we’re part of that same wisdom.
We think pausing is lazy.
But in the nervous system, pausing is literally how regulation happens.
When you slow down, your vagus nerve finally gets a signal that you’re safe.
Your brain shifts from survival mode into restoration.
Your breath deepens, your heart steadies, and your intuition — that quiet intuition-sense we all have — gets louder.
I remember one specific moment when this finally clicked for me.
My family was in the mountains, my friends were at a show (that I had forgotten all about even though I had tickets for months), and I was at home ... working my way deeper into burnout. I was exhausted, couldn't think straight, and wasn't even being productive. When my friends texted me asking me where I was I realized ... I needed to stop.
It felt like the Earth herself was saying:
“Rest. I’ll hold the rest for you.”
And here’s the witchy truth we forget:
Rest is a spell.
A reclaiming.
A calling back of your energy from everywhere you’ve scattered it.
You don’t have to earn it.
You don’t need permission.
You don’t need your life to be neatly tied up first.
In nature, nothing is ever fully “done.”
There’s always another leaf to fall, another root to deepen, another cycle beginning even while one is ending.
Your life is no different.
There will always be one more thing to do.
So if you’re sitting in the middle of unfinished tasks, half-folded laundry, unanswered texts, or a project that keeps whispering for your attention — pause anyway.
Put a hand on your heart.
Feel your breath return.
Let your system shift out of urgency and into presence.
Because here’s the magic and the science:
Your body restores faster when you rest before you collapse.
Your energy replenishes when you choose slowness intentionally, not just when you’ve hit the wall.
And your intuition is clearest when your nervous system isn’t in overdrive.
What no one tells you is that the world doesn’t fall apart when you stop.
Your responsibilities don’t vanish, but neither does your worth.
Things simply wait.
And when you return, you show up with a clearer mind and a regulated nervous system instead of resentment and exhaustion.
So if you’re reading this and you’ve got half-finished tasks, unanswered messages, dishes in the sink, or a project that’s still staring at you — you can pause.
Right now.
Mid-process.
Mid-mess.
Mid-life.
Your body doesn’t know your to-do list;
it only knows when it’s tired.
And tired is enough of a reason.
So let this land deeply:
You are allowed to rest even when things aren’t done.
The Earth does.
Your body needs to.
Your spirit remembers how.
You don’t need permission… but if it helps, here it is:
Sit down. Breathe. Let something be undone.
You’re still worthy of rest.
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