In your communication with the clergy, you are encouraging them to be more intentional about taking time to breathe in the spirit. Drawing upon our scriptural tradition, remind them of the truth contained in the Sabbath commandment.
One of the powerful impacts of the Sabbath is that it interrupts the flow of whatever drives you in life and offers you the opportunity to gain perspective. You take some time out of your busy world to worship and renew your connection with God and what God expects of you. Or perhaps you just enjoy what it feels like to be a loved child of God. You interrupt your focus on work to spend time in relationships and you recognize their importance to you. You pause for a time from being productive and pay attention to your body and mind’s need to rest and drink in the spirit.
In addition to taking a full day as a Sabbath, there are benefits to interrupting the pace of your life for even fifteen minutes. Consider the impact of twice a day pausing to commune with God, your neighbor, or loved one, or even just to breathe and gain perspective on your life. Try setting your alarm for one time in the morning and one time in the afternoon where you might interrupt your productivity and pause to breathe.
Fifteen minute Sabbaths can be experienced when your car arrives at a destination, before you get out and attend to whatever project awaits you. It can be experienced when you excuse yourself and enter a stall in a bathroom. It can be experienced while you eat alone at a restaurant. For those who are blessed with an office with a door to close, that is also a possibility. Consider taking a month in which you would try such fifteen minute Sabbaths twice a day. Keep track in your calendar. If you fail to take the fifteen minutes one time, simply mark that down and continue on for the next time. At the end of the month, review the impact of this practice on your own spiritual life.
