Overflow

“Rest and self-care are so important. When you take time to replenish your spirit, it allows you to serve from the overflow. You cannot serve from an empty vessel.” ~ Eleanor Brown

As teachers and individuals who are in a field of service to others, it can often feel as if we’re giving from an empty bucket. We are comforting and encouraging our students, colleagues, and families, but we may not feel comforted and encouraged ourselves. We are experiencing firsthand or secondhand trauma on a daily basis and must remain patient and caring. However, we may not feel understood by those around us. How can we continue to serve and give of ourselves from an empty vessel?

I don’t think there is an easy answer to this question, but as I’ve been reflecting on authentic rest this week, I appreciate Eleanor Brown’s words. When you take time to replenish your spirit, it allows you to serve from the overflow. Notice how she names this as intentional actions? Number one: Take time. Number two: Replenish. As we’ve discussed this week, in order to take time for our rest and self-care, some modifications may need to be made to our current schedules or reality. Perhaps we need to explore the healthy boundaries we are setting. Perhaps we need to ask for help in certain areas. Or we may need to give up something that is not serving a fulfilling purpose for another action that will. Then, as we focus on replenishing our energy, passion, and spirit, this involves returning to the questions we reflected on yesterday. Identifying the people, places, and activities that bring life and peace is crucial to creating more intentional rest. Learning to fill our vessels is a process. Let’s take this journey one step at a time and remain curious about ourselves and others as we grow in prioritizing rest in this next season.