Learn to Rest

We all need short vacations

in life's fast and maddening race

An interlude of quietness from

the constant jet-age pace,

So when your day is pressure-packed

and your hours are all too few,

Just close your eyes and meditate

and let God talk to you.

For when we keep on pushing,

we're not following in God's way

We are foolish, selfish robots

mechanized to fill each day

With unimportant trivia that

makes life more complex

And gives us greater problems to irritate and vex.

So when your nervous network

becomes a tangled mess,

Just close your eyes in silent prayer

and ask the Lord to bless

Each thought that you are thinking,

each decision you must make,

As well as every word you speak

and every step you take

For only by the grace of God

can you gain self-control,

And only meditative thoughts

can restore your peace and soul.

Hellen  Steiner  Rice