The Art Of Rest: How To Find Respite In The Modern Age

Socrates reportedly said we should be “aware of the barrenness of a busy life” (p. 2). In light of this, how many of us appreciate and make enough time for rest and respite? Faced with the stresses and demands of our fast-paced lives, is increased rest the prescription we need? Today, many people claim they have a rest deficit. But what is rest—and how complicated is it to understand? Are we too busy today to appreciate the need for rest? What are the benefits of rest? Can we shift our mindset to make time for rest and enjoy that rest? What are the most common ways we find rest? Claudia Hammond’s The Art of Rest: How to Find Respite in the Modern Age (2019) seeks to answer these questions, offering hope for the present and future. Indeed, her central argument is that the restorative state is good.