The Shadow-gloom and Weight of the Sacred

Credit: Steve Feather http://www.flickr.com/photos/7317295@N04/ CC BY-SA 2.0

This morning, I woke up a little after seven because I forgot to turn off my alarm clock for the weekend. If I remember turn off my alarm clock, it usually means that I sleep until a little after 7:30--about the latest the Queen Bee can stay in her bed (she's an early worm). I forgot to buy coffee. Last night, I even made a trip to Wal-Mart to buy coffee but forgot that by the time I got there. I bought a few other things and completely forgot about the coffee. So, I made a trip to the McDonalds's drive-thru window for a large coffee and, since I was already there, I picked up some breakfast. I thought, Man, it is so nice and relaxing to just drive to McDonalds and have my breakfast and coffee prepared for me.

As I thought this I was paying for my meal (first window, please) and I wondered how long the woman accepting my payment had been awake. At what time did she have to be at work? On a Saturday. How long will she work today? Then, as I picked up my order (second window), I started to feel a little guilty because it occurred to me that rest is a benefit of the privileged.

In Vienna, a culture that has not embraced the consumer economy to the same extent as the United States, many shops and businesses remain closed on the weekend (this is especially so on Sunday). I have vague memories of the last remnants of this practice from my childhood in our own country, but I don't think it happens too much anymore. There are too many opportunities to make money, and some businesses are just trying to keep there heads above water, I know. (I suspect that McDonalds would be fine if it were closed on the weekends.)

Rest. Time with family. Relaxation. Vacation. Holiday. Time to read a book or enjoy a football game. These things haven't really concerned me except for when they impact my own life. I haven't really cared much that other people get to enjoy rest. I want businesses open on the weekend because of the convenience it is to me. It's restful for me when I can easily access goods and services on any day of the week at any time. I just haven't thought too much about the cost of that convenience. What a great gift it is to offer rest to someone.

I'm thinking I'm going to try and arrange my life so that, at least on Sundays, I am not participating in the consumption practices so prevalent every other day of my life. And, as I write that, I realize that that'd be rest for me too. Hopefully, it will also be a step towards rest for someone else.