Sustainable Living in Iraq
This isn’t about what you think it’s about. Sorry? Too often we associate “sustainable living” with recycling, cutting emissions, gardening, and getting rid of single use plastics. But what about living in a way that we are mentally, emotionally, and spiritually able to sustain for the long term?
One of the things that can cut short a sustainable life is burn out. It is really easy to get overworked and over involved when you serve abroad. Everything takes more time, more work, more effort and it is often easy to ignore the warning signs that it is all too much. We want our staff to be healthy for life in Iraq, and one of the most important parts of that is establishing sustainable habits of rest.
Here’s some ways our staff find rest and refreshment:
1) Take a day off. Do no work related things at least one day a week every week – no grading, no student visits or lesson planning. What you do with your time off is up to you, but do no work.
2) Do something you enjoy. We’ve had team members who play instruments, craft, create art, bake, cook, read, run, play games, or watch movies as hobbies. We encourage taking time during the week to do what brings you joy outside of your job.
3) Take a nap. Sometimes it’s as easy as setting aside an hour or two for extra sleep.
4) Spend time with others who encourage you. Call your loved ones back home or go out to dinner with your team. Attend a church service or small group Bible study. Be with people who build you up.
5) Spend time with Jesus. Set aside time to grow your relationship with God by reading His Word, praying, worshipping, and being silent before Him. Whether in a group setting or on your own, it is important to spend time with the Lord.
6) Take a break. Get away from your day to day life for 10 or more days. This could be over a holiday break, or a summer or even a year of rest. Just getting a solid break from the day to day grind of life can work wonders for feeling rested and refreshed. Getting away can feel scary, like everything will fall apart without you. But it’s important to get away regularly so that you can see your life from the outside and find breathing room to tackle its problems well
7) Get active. Going for a walk, doing a work out or spending a few minutes stretching each morning can get those endorphins working. Add 20 minutes of purposeful movement to your day.
8) Build in quiet. Maybe you get up early to have 30 minutes of quiet to think through the day ahead. Or maybe you set a nighttime routine to help you wind down for bed. Build in time for your mind to be at rest.
9) Guard your time. You cannot be everything everywhere all at once. Set in stone the time you need for rest. Guard it diligently. Don’t give it up!
10) Set some accountability. If you want to get serious about rest, get other people to help you establish restful habits. It really helps to have someone with you.
