Cultivating Contentment #1 | Rest

There is something at the start of the New Year that invites rest. We've just muscled through weeks of holiday dinners, parties, late-night gift wrapping sessions, online shopping until our eyes are sore, crafting, baking, making, cooking... It's all been a joy, and I'm grateful that I'm able to do these things with and for family and friends, but it seems like we cram it all into the end of the year. Then, there's the pressure to have a jaw-droppingly festive and opulent New Years Eve to cap off the season. I much prefer to decompress and use the time at the start of the new year to create space for rest and recovery.

Tired Salesgirl on Christmas Eve by Norman Rockwell, 1947

This is counterintuitive to our cultural messaging, which tells us to begin the new year at a full sprint-- workout five days a week, make a vision board, journal every day, become "that girl", start your glowup, get your money, get more out of your life. I find this a deeply exhausting way to live, and one of the most toxic byproducts of 2010's hustle culture that still, unfortunately, pervades everything in the 2020's. Now that I'm in my 30's and life looks a little different, I can finally distance myself from the chaos and toxicity of that messaging. And I would encourage you, whoever you are and however old you are, to do the same.

The American message of "More, more, more for me, me, me," is deeply alienating and creates an emptiness at the center of our lives that we try to fill with stuff. Whether that stuff is physical, like consumer goods, or something less tangible like hours of scrolling TikTok or working hard to garner attention on our social media platform of choice, the underlying message is the same-- the only way to fully be worthy in this life is to consume and consume conspicuously, and to make oneself palatable and consumable to others.

Instead of barreling into 2025 trying to do more and to be more consumable, I've been trying to rest and be content with what I already have and who I already am. I often fall into the trap of identifying with my material possessions and assigning my worth to external markers of social status and wealth. In my heart of hearts, I know that all of these things pass away and that we can take nothing with us at the end of this life. I know that I am so much more than the things I own or how I look. But the vanity and consumerism on social media has had an impact on me, and I am taking my time in 2025 to release myself from these standards and to cleanse my heart and mind of the negative messaging and the urge to accrue, consume, and own.

I am writing this series on cultivating contentment to remind myself, and whoever may read this, that real life is messy and chaotic and not very aesthetic 99% of the time, but that there is so much joy and peace in embracing it that way. So, this week's practice is finding peace, joy, and happiness in the simple act of rest, wherever I can get it and whatever it looks like. One day it may look like a knitting session on the couch watching old ghost hunting shows, and another it may look like a luxurious bubble bath in my cramped bathtub. Sometimes, rest looks like those few moments between work tasks where you can take a few deep breaths and gaze out the window before diving into yet another spreadsheet. And sometimes, rest is just when you finally hit the pillow close to midnight, close your eyes, and breathe a silent thank you for today.

I hope you find some space to rest this week, and that you will find moments of contentment in those spaces.