A Day Off

Yesterday, because I had the day off from teaching (Spring break), I took the day off from blogging and writing. I decided to take a long hike in Bear Mountain State Park (NY) in the Hudson Highlands area.

I did an eight mile hike to a summit called the "Timp" and then to Duderburg Mountain. It was a spectacular day: sunny and in the 60's. The hike was challenging: 8 miles and about 2,000 feet of vertical. The photo above from the Timp looking north is from TomOnHudson on the panorama.com website. Looking south you can see the New York City skyline. I had lunch on this summit and took in the inspiring views.

I returned from this hike tired and with a deep sense of gratitude for the opportunity to spend Holy Thursday in nature's cathedral. This day of hiking was refreshing on several levels: physical, psychological and spiritual.

To renew and refresh our spirits, we need to regularly take a day off from our usual routine. In religious terms, a day off is a sabbath, a Hebrew word meaning "rest." The sabbath's origins can be traced to the first creation story in Genesis chapter one when God "rested" on the seventh day of creation. If God takes regular days off for rest, so should we.