Something on my Mind: Twenty-four Six (2)

You may wonder what the "Twenty-four Six" heading means. Well, for starters, 24/6 is different from 24/7. The former suggests what I am driving at; the latter suggests that I'm being driven. (Fairly witty distinction, I'd say.)

We speak of support lines being available 24/7, of certain coffee shops being open 24/7. Those schedules are good and bad: good for the buyer, bad for the seller.

There is a real need for a six-day work week these days, with the seventh day being a true day of rest. You'll have your own definition of what "rest" means. Technically, it means "to cease from labour," whatever labour you're doing.

I have to confess my sin here: I rarely take a day off myself, though I am no longer bound by a Monday-to-Friday job, with working set hours. Sometimes with fixed hours, one can just leave the workplace and go home (I know there are lot of exceptions). But when it is fluid (like mine), one who is a Type A (like yours truly), it is really had to draw the line—because there simply is no line.

The premise of today's column, with this particular commandment, is that we need to take a break on a weekly basis in order to restore our mind, rejuvenate our bodies, and re-kindle our relationships, The two begging questions are: Why should we do it? And, How should we do it?

Even within the immediate context (Exodus 20.8-11) of the historical basis for such a day, there is the encouragement when to work and not work, setting aside a day of rest. There is the "holy" (= special and set aside) component to the Sabbath, but I won't develop that here.

Taking a regular break is not without precedent. We take a break every night; it's called sleeping. And woe betide us (and those we come in contact with) when we don't enough sleep or have a lousy night in bed.

We take a break from eating (and maybe cheat a little with snacking), but we pay the price if we eat too much. We even pay the price if we don't take a break. It just needs to be balanced. We often take a break from working; it's called a family vacation, though sometimes if we don't do it right, we end up needing a vacation to recover from our vacation.

But this notion of taking a break, a rest, a cessation from labour (very technical-sounding, isn't it?), is what this column is all about. Are you able to work your five days, maybe six, and then say "enough is enough"?

The key is to replace your labour with something very different, and I will leave that up to you to call that one. It's a matter of structuring your lifestyle whereby there is a balance between the duty of doing and pleasure of leisure Any imbalance leads to either extreme of workaholism or laziness, and we don't want that, do we?

I know, even on a Sabbath, dishes always have to be washed, meals prepared, garbage taken out, along with the regular household chores. In most of our cases, our lifestyle would need some severe tweaking, and even then, we likely couldn't come up with a clean-slate sabbath.

You might want to adjust your schedule, and one complete day may not work for you. Perhaps it will be a couple of nights a week here, or a morning there. That doesn't strike me as too difficult.

We (and I mean "we") may work a lot because we find some fulfillment, as a badge of honour, of being always busy. Other times we work a lot to avoid being engaged in the matters that matters most, namely, family and friends; that is, it is a means of avoidance. Sometimes we work a lot because there is both a time and financial constraint issue, and slaving ten hours a day six days a week is the only way to keep our head above water.

But the simple point is that we need to have a regular break from the weekly routine. It doesn't mean we have to do this to replace doing that. That may work, but better, just get creative when it comes to habits, duties, chores, demands, and expectations.

We've heard of a good "work ethic" and that is absolutely necessary for all. But I suggest we also need a good rest ethic, or in the language of today's column, a good sabbath ethic. I've never heard that phrase before, and yes, if you ask me, I think it's kind of cool.

The Designer (God) of our souls knows what's best for us. I think it's wise on our part to read and follow His Manual (Bible) for our life. We'd have a better society for it. And that is certainly a good goal.

Something on my Mind: Twenty-four Six (1)

"Remember the Sabbath to keep it holy" is the fourth of ten commandments that we are looking at, and easily the hardest one so far for me to apply in a practical sense. I don't think I struggle seriously with competing deities, graven idols, or bad language (ie., the first three commandments).

Well, a little lapse here and there, but in the main, I think I have a handle on a hands-on response to the Ten Commandments, so far. But the this fourth one? I find it hard to take a regular break.

To repeat: This brief series on the Ten Commandments is based on the premise that we would (absolutely and definitely) have a better society if we implemented the Ten Commandments (also known as the Decalogue) in our personal lives, family lives, and every other aspects of our daily lives.

This is not a hint about Shariah law, nor any other form of theocracy. And the disastrous series of the ragtag religious quest called the Crusades is an example of that; the Inquisition would be another. And while we're at it, converting to Islam at the point of a knife is yet another example of what I'm not writing about.

Without using this column as a pulpit, I am firmly convinced in my mind and by my experience that when the Bible is applied in every area of life, it works. That is, it works financially, sexually, morally, ethically, physically, emotionally—and any other word that ends in "ly" and that fits into this list.

Today's commandment (layman's terms: "take time off or set times aside every week on a regular basis") would be helpful, when applied to each of our lives. Honouring the Sabbath (and not necessarily in a religious sense) was the norm until about thirty years ago, when the doors blew off protecting families and businesses from the frenetic rat race of a seven-day work week.

I am not aware of studies (and yes, I have looked for them) that show that we are better off by not remembering (= "marking") the Sabbath. Contrariwise, a Dr. Sleeth, a former emergency room medical doctor, cited a serious growth in anxiety and depression as a result of not remembering the Sabbath. I believe he called it an "epidemic."

I think there is the sense, in the one extreme, that we're under the gun to go, slave, produce, and rarely let up. There is no quality time for ourselves, our marriages, our families and friends. Consider the positives of taking time out matter of hobbies, outlets and leisure time. We need a break from working all the time.

(The other extreme, of course, is that systemic laziness, that lack of energy and initiative, that do-as-little-as-possible, with a "it's not my job" mentality. This is one reason why there is an unemployment epidemic: too many people just don't work.)

One extreme is that we can slow down our work pace; the other extreme is that we won't even start working. I'm talking about the former.

Sabbath simply means "to cease from your labour" and it has its origins the creation of the world, where the Creator-God rested on the seventh day (our Saturday). The nature of this column does not allow me to delve in to the myriad restrictions and consequent punishments for not obeying the laws of the Sabbath. Suffice to say, they were very severe.

You are free to read about them yourself. I would even supply the Bible (free of charge, of course).

There is a religious order, other than Jews, who honour the Saturday as their Sabbath—thus, they are known as Seventh-Day Adventists. Other people call Sunday the "Christian Sabbath," even though there is no such thing. But I do understand their drift; I just don't see it from Scripture.

I posit that if we could stop the desperate cycle of go-go-go and push-push-push, we would be better off. And that's starting with our bodies, minds, and souls. Too many of us are a driving and driven people, and while I laud initiative and ambition, how much good is too much good?

Another source suggests the many benefits resulting in taking time off—really taking time off and not simply re-shuffling or re-naming it-- as follows: reset one's focus, mentally, emotionally, and physically; feel more productive upon returning to work or any other task at hand; getting life and work into balance, for starters.

I should stop now. You know, I've places to go, people to see, things to do, and I need to get them done before I collapse in bed—only to push myself tomorrow.

In fact, my day of rest gets so full, I need a sabbath from my Sabbath.