Bit by Bit - Chapter 15, Part 5

Trey Smith

So it is said, If the body is made to labor and take no rest, it will wear out; if the spiritual essence is taxed without cessation, it will grow weary, and weariness will bring exhaustion. It is the nature of water that if it is not mixed with other things, it will be clear, and if nothing stirs it, it will be level. But if it is dammed and hemmed in and not allowed to flow, then, too, it will cease to be clear. As such, it is a symbol of Heavenly Virtue. So it is said, To be pure, clean, and mixed with nothing; still, unified, and unchanging; limpid and inactive; moving with the workings of Heaven - this is the way to care for the spirit.
~ Burton Watson translation ~

While I am not a Christian and the Holy Bible means little to me, I can give the Judeo-Christian tradition some plaudits for the notion that the Sabbath is a day of rest. It seems as if those nomadic tribespeople understood that all work and no play is a recipe for disaster. If a person's nose is always punishing the grindstone, it will fall off far sooner than necessary.

To view the Index page for this series, go here.