It’s OK to rest
“Leo rules the heart. Inside each of us beats the heart of the leader we need now. In each of us there is the capacity to find our way forward, together. In each of us there is a need to shine, and the more we consider how and where we best do that, the less likely we are to want others to do it for us.”
It's been what feels like ages given how much can change in a moment on this wild ride of year. Each time I sat down to write to you, it felt impossible to put words to the wide range of emotions, energies, and experiences pouring through. Today, on this New Moon in lionhearted Leo, it's time to share with you the recurring message that has arrived in full strength each time I've felt exhausted, confused, overwhelmed, or unproductive. Each time I gave myself a talking to for NOT producing a missive to send you, the message that did come through loud and clear with no mincing of words is - It's OK to rest.
The most recent plan was to send this message out to you on the auspicious Lion's Gate, a powerful energetic portal that arrives each August on 8-8. A few days before, it became clear I needed to take a break from the intense summer heat of the desert and go play, so I loaded up the kayaks, a picnic, and my man-cub for a day trip to a high mountain lake. It was the delightful change-up we needed to remind me of something very important in these transformative days – there is immense power to be harnessed through rest.
During this period of Leo energy, the messages are often about being in your power, connecting to your strength, the symbol of the lion in it's glory and reverberant ROAR. While this is all true and wonderful, what this year's gateway brought me was the gift of awareness that all that power comes from deep and consistent rest.
I did a little research, did you know that the average lion/lioness rests for 15-20 hours EVERY DAY? Yeah. That's a whole lot of what looks like nothing much going on, yet that level of rest yields the output of impressive and awe inspiring strength, decisive action, and expression we revere in the lion. The message I offer you right now is that it's not only OK to rest, it's essential so you can access your full strength and capacity.
Now what do I mean by rest? I'm not talking about sleeping more every day, but perhaps that's just what you need. Rest can also take many forms that aren't necessarily obvious expressions of "rest." For example, my rest over the past month has been working with my friend his heirloom tomato garden. I go in the early morning, before it's too hot, and pick pounds and pounds of tomatoes. There were days when I picked 200+ pounds in a couple hours. I was sweaty, tired, covered in tomato pollen, and my body ached, but that physical labor allowed my mind and my emotions a space of daily rest from the current challenges.
My invitation to you on this Leo New Moon is to explore what brings you into a state of rest and do more of it. Just as the lion/lioness uses the better part of their day, without explanation, without apology, to rest - will you give yourself permission to find your own source of daily rest? To rest in the fullness of the experience you're having right now?
We'll each need our lion heart, our roar, our inner leader fully rested and ready to lead the way forward in the days to come. We're creating the new path, discerning what we want our new normal to be, and this will require massive amounts of energy. Energy sourced from a commitment to rest.
