A wise old monk was once lying down, relaxing underneath the warn sun when a hunter cam rushing toward him. Seeing the monk the hunter stopped and then chastised the monk for taking it so easy. Surely a man of God should be busy about his work?
The monk sat up, looked at the hunter, and said "Take your bow and shoot an arrow." The hunter was not sure why the monk would tell him to do this, but not wanting to offend a holy man he followed the instructions. Once he'd shot his bow the monk told him to shoot another, then another, then another.
This continued until the hunter finally said "But sir, if I keep my bow stretched all the time, it will break."
"Precisely" said the wise old monk. "And so it is with us human beings. We too will break if we push ourselves without taking time out to relax."
Source: Based on a story found at Sowers Seeds.
Topics: leisure, relaxation, rest, work, sabbath, stress, burnout